Fever
by ChandaK562
Summary: Lona is taken ill with a misterious illness that may jeopardize the health of others in the hospital. Kingdom Hospital Story
1. chapter 1

Plot Bunnies are evil, evil little things. They've got me chained to my keyboard at the moment and are forcing me to type out their evil ideas.  
All I can say is that it's good that Elmer and Lona work in a hospital.  
  
"Hey, Hook, wait up!" Elmer called as he hurried down the hall after his colleague.  
  
"What do you need, Elmer?" Hook said with a grin although he thought he could probably guess what Elmer was interested in, the same thing he had been focused on since the day he walked into the doors of Kingdom Hospital. Lona.  
  
"Ummmm, have you seen Lona anywhere around?" Elmer asked. "I just went down to the sleep lab but she's not there."  
  
"Dr. James asked her to run by the airport." Hook told Elmer.  
"Dr. Thompson is coming back today from his work in Africa and he needed someone to pick him up."  
  
Elmer cringed at the name of the doctor. Why did HE have to come back now? Elmer had been vaguely hoping that he would decide to move to Africa permanently, or maybe get eaten by a lion. He knew that Thompson had gone out with Lona a few times before he left. Now that he was back....  
  
"Elmer...." Hook said in a warning tone as he caught the jealous look flashing in the younger doctor's eyes. "If you're about to try to do something to get Lona to notice you, I suggest you try flowers instead of heads this time. Less messy."  
  
"It was just one head. How long are you going to be using that against me?" Elmer grumbled as he walked away from Hook. Honestly, he already agreed to sneak into Medical Records and get the Klingerman file.  
Why did Hook have to keep bringing that head thing up? As he walked away though, he thought more about Hook's joking suggestion of flowers.  
Maybe.... There was a nice arrangement in the gift show window. He would just go get them and have the waiting for her when she got back from her trip to the airport. That ought to take Lona's mind off that Thompson creep!  
  
Almost three hours later, Elmer hurried down the stairs towards the sleep lab, arrangement of roses in his arms. Honestly, his dad picked absolutely the worst times to find him and try to teach him something about medicine. At least that Thompson creep wasn't here with Lona though, that was one consolation. He still had some time to make a good impression on her.  
  
"Lona?" He called as he entered the sleep lab. He had checked the parking lot before heading down. Her car was back so he knew that she was there. "Lona?" He started into the main area of the lab, a slightly nervous feeling in his stomach. He didn't know what he would do if he couldn't convince Lona that he was serious about her. He knew that she thought that his feelings were just a crush, that everyone thought that it was just a silly crush but Elmer knew that it was something more. Lona was the first woman that he had loved and the only one he ever would love. If only he could make her see that.  
  
"Lona?" he called again, jus as he spotted something out of the corner of his eyes. He stopped staring for a moment, his mind suddenly numb. He crossed the room slowly, sitting the flowers down on a counter as he did so, not able to really comprehend what he was seeing. "Lona?" he whispered and then said louder as he dropped to the floor. "Lona?!"  
  
Her face was flushed, her skin hot to the touch as Elmer reached out and gently touched her cheek. "Lona?!" He called her name again,  
panic filling him when she didn't respond. "Lona, wake up!" He felt himself beginning to hyperventilate as seconds passed without a response but he tried to force himself to stay focused as difficult as that was with seeing Lona like this. "Lona?" he called again, trying to recall what he should be doing for a moment before carefully tilting her head back and feeling for breathing and a pulse. A moment later, his eyes grew even wider, panic almost overtaking him completely. Nothing, there was nothing.  
No breathing, no pulse. She was.... No, no, no! This couldn't be happening!  
  
Just then he heard footsteps and looked up as Hook entered the door of the lab. "Help me!" Elmer cried frantically, as he looked from Lona to Hook for a second before turning his focus back on her once more. "I think..." He could hardly make himself say it. "I think she's dead!" 


	2. chapter 2

Hook dropped to the ground next to Elmer and Lona, his hand reaching out and automatically checking for a pulse, eyes widening in surprise at how hot her skin felt under his fingertips.  
  
"CPR, now!" Hook pulled himself to his feet as he spoke, heading for the lab phone. Something wasn't right with that fever and he was very afraid of what it could mean. "Otto, call a code down to the sleep lab,  
highest level infection protocols!"  
  
Elmer stared in shock at Lona even as Hook moved towards the phone and started issuing orders. He knew that what Hook told him to do was the right thing, that he needed to move, to do something, but his body felt numb, as if he was totally detached from it. This just couldn't be happening, had to be some sort of dream. Maybe he was under the scanner again?  
  
"Lona?" He called her name once more, hoping for a reaction, for something to wake him up or show him that this was only a dream. His fingers pressed against her neck again but there was still nothing, no sight of life. Elmer leaned over Lona, pressing his lips against hers,  
breathing into her mouth, still not wanting to believe that this was really happening. "Lona?" His hands moved down to her chest, becoming more and more sure that this couldn't be a dream as he ran his fingers between her breasts feeling for the right hand position for chest compressions. If this was a dream, then wouldn't Lona be sitting up and yelling at him at this point? "Lona?" He whispered as he started to push down on her chest,  
cringing when he heard a snapping noise as he pressed down. "Hook, help me!"  
  
"Do the breathing, help will be here in just a minute." Hook nudged Elmer slightly as he dropped down beside them once more, his hands moving to take Elmer's place on Lona's chest. "Any idea how long she was like this?"  
  
"I just found her," Elmer whispered, watching carefully, forcing himself to focus as Hook pushed down on Lona's chest. He couldn't mess this up, had to do it perfectly if he didn't want Lona to.... No, this couldn't be.... He tried to turn his mind off, to not let himself think beyond giving her another breath after every set of compressions but he couldn't quite manage it. How long could Lona have been like this before he found her? What if it was too long and she.... Or brain damage? That could happen from oxygen deprivation, he was almost sure. What if.... Why hadn't he gone down to the lab sooner? This was his fault! He should have known something was wrong somehow and now.... He felt tears starting to form in his eyes, She wasn't getting better. Why wasn't she getting better? Shouldn't she be getting better if they were doing things right?  
No, he wouldn't let himself think about that. Just breathe. Keep breathing for her.  
  
Suddenly, there were footsteps rapidly approaching and a second later what could be aliens in some sort of space suits appeared in the doorway.  
  
"What happened?" Chris asked Hook as she dropped to the floor beside him, her eyes wide with concern as she looked from Lona's body to Hook. Other staff members quickly moved around Lona, one of them nudging Elmer safely out of the way as they quickly started the necessary tasks to try to save her life.  
  
"Elmer found her like this maybe three, four minutes ago. No idea how long she could have been down before that." Hook looked up as one of the protective suited nurses came in with the crash cart, as soon as it was within easy reach, grabbing the two paddles and pressing them against Lona's now bare chest. He let out a soft mental sigh a second later when he saw the erratic rhythm on the monitor. V-fib. They could treat that.  
Well, he hoped they could treat it successfully anyway. At least it meant she still had a chance.  
  
Elmer watched helplessly as the doctors and nurses moved around Lona, working on her, inserting tubes and needles, attaching things to various parts of her body. He nervously bit his lip, trying to keep from crying as he looked at her, He wouldn't know how to describe what was different to another person but there was something almost visible about the limp body, that screamed out that Lona was gone. 'Please, please'  
He felt a tear starting to roll down his cheek and it was all he could do to keep from screaming out his pain now that he didn't have Lona and trying to save her to focus on.  
  
Lona's body twitched slightly, her shoulders shrugging as the current of the defibrillator hit her. Hook glanced over at the monitor anxiously as the erratic lines twitched spasmodically. "Come on, Lona,"  
he whispered under his breath, stealing a glance up at Elmer before turning intense focus on the monitor once more. He knew that lack of response to one shock wouldn't really mean anything but at the same time, the quicker that she responded, the better the odds were that she would come out of this okay. A moment later, he let out a soft sigh of relief when he saw first one and then another and another steady heartbeats running across the monitor screen.  
  
"We got her," He said, looking up at Elmer with a smile before focusing on the others working around Lona once more. "Get the standard post arrest drugs started," he nodded to one of the nurses before turning to Chris. "Chris, we're going to need to get her into an isolation room and I need you to notify Dr. James and get someone over to Dr. Thompson's house right away."  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Chris asked quietly.  
  
"I don't know but Lona was fine when she left to pick up Thompson,"  
Hook said in a matching quiet voice. "Whatever she has, it's likely she was infected by him. She's burning up now."  
  
"And you and Elmer were both exposed." Chris's eyes widened as she suddenly realized that besides Lona, Hook and Elmer were the only two people in the room not properly suited. "Hook...."  
  
"Chris, get someone to find Thompson fast." Hook said as they started to move Lona onto a stretcher. "If we can get to him, maybe we can find out what this is and how to treat it." 


	3. chapter 3

Elmer hovered by Lona's bedside, knowing that he was probably in the way and wasn't helping the situation any but at the same time unable to move. Even though Hook had ordered Lona to be put in an isolation room, it really didn't seem exactly isolated in there to him with all of the doctors and nurses bustling in and out, garbed in the heavy suits, each one of them seeming intent on doing something new and he was sure more painful to Lona.  
He felt himself cringe as another nurse started to draw what seemed like the millionth vial of her blood. What were these people trying to do to her? Elmer was very sure that Lona needed at least a little bit of that blood to stay in her body.  
  
"He isn't taking this well, is he?" Chris asked Hook as both of them glanced over at Elmer.  
  
"He was the one who found her. Who would expect him to take it well? I'm surprised he isn't even more freaked than this," Hook said with a shake of his head as he headed over to his younger colleague. "Elmer?"  
  
Elmer jumped slightly at the sound of someone saying his name before realizing that it was Hook. "Do they know what's wrong with her?"  
Elmer asked anxiously as he looked at Hook for a moment before turning his eyes onto Lona once more. She hadn't moved, hadn't shown any response since they had revived her in the sleep lab. Okay, Elmer knew that it was perfectly normal for someone to be unresponsive right after suffering a cardiac arrest but it was an entirely different matter when the person in question was Lona. All he wanted was for her to open her eyes. He wouldn't care if she yelled at him for trying to flirt with her or asked for that jerk Thompson as long as she would open her eyes and he could see that she was okay.  
  
"They're working on finding out what's going on," Hook said slowly, careful to keep his tone even, knowing that with the mental condition that Elmer was in any sign that he was more than a bit nervous could set Elmer into an even deeper panic. Hook shook his head slightly.  
They all knew that Elmer had a crush on Lona but somehow, he was getting the feeling that Elmer's feelings for her might be a bit more than the crush they thought it was.  
  
"I contacted the Department of Health and the Lewiston Police Department. They're going to go over to Dr. Thompson's house and bring him in." Chris said as she joined Hook and Elmer, looking over at Lona with concern herself, having to fight a slowly growing fear as she observed Lona's condition. She was hooked to a ventilator, had never really tried to breathe on her own after they had brought her back. There were cooling blankets over her trying to get the fever under control but as far as Chris could tell they weren't even touching it yet. And Hook had been exposed to this, whatever it was, along with Elmer. If Hook were infected.... She felt the fear start to bubble up from inside and had to force it viciously back down once more. This wasn't the time for panic and she couldn't let herself give in to fear now. She needed to keep her wits about her if she wanted to be of any use.  
  
"Thompson? He's the one who did this to Lona?" Elmer whispered as he looked away from Lona for a moment. Thompson, he knew that guy was bad news! When he got his hands on him.... How could he do something like this to Lona, put her life in such danger?  
  
"We don't know that he's the one who infected Lona," Hook said slowly, hoping to calm Elmer down before the police got here with Thompson.  
With the look on Elmer's face, it didn't seem to bode well for Thompson's future health if he was infected and ended up in isolation with them.  
"Since he just got back from Africa, though, it looks like a pretty good guess that he might have been infected with whatever this is and passed it on to Lona."  
  
"But if you get him in here you can make him tell you what this is?" Elmer demanded. He knew that Thompson was a jerk besides being not nearly good enough for Lona. How could he expose her to something like this?  
  
"Hopefully," Hook said slowly, not wanting Elmer to know that even if they got Thompson in there, even if he was alive when they found him,  
there was a pretty good chance that he wouldn't know what the disease was.  
He couldn't have been showing symptoms when Lona picked him up or she would have drug him right to the hospital and he might very well have no idea where he had been exposed. Of course, that assumed that he was still alive to question, something Hook was doubtful of if Thompson's symptoms had followed the same course as Lona's symptoms had taken.  
  
"Chris," Hook said quietly as they moved away from Elmer, letting him go back to fretting at Lona's bedside. "I want you to tell Elmer's dad what happened, see if he'll keep an eye on Peter Rickman for me. I don't want Stegman or Brenda anywhere near him."  
  
Chris nodded slowly, at the same time trying to think of a way that she could give this news to Louis. How could you really break gently to someone that their only surviving child had just been exposed to some strange, potentially fatal illness?  
  
Suddenly, the monitors that Lona was attached to started to beep erratically, causing Hook and Chris to spin around.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Elmer demanded, staring from Hook to Lona with near panic written all over his face. They couldn't be losing her again! He didn't think he could stand to see it if.... He had tried to stay back, not wanting to get in the way but now he hurried forward,  
reaching out and taking her hand in his and holding it tight. Please,  
please! He couldn't loose her! "Hook?"  
  
"Wait a minute." Hook carefully looked at the monitors once more as he noted the alarm sounds fading away. "Okay." He looked around trying to figure out what the problem might have been, noting Lona's rapidly bruising arms, before issuing orders. "Take the blood draws slower. That might be putting some stress on her."  
  
"Is she... is she okay?" Elmer asked hesitantly as Hook moved over to join him at Lona's side.  
  
"I want you to stay right there with her." Hook deliberately didn't answer Elmer's question, not really sure of the answer. "I need you to hold her hand for me and talk to her, try to keep her calm. Think you can do that?"  
  
Elmer nodded, moving closer to Lona's side, reaching out and gently stroking her forehead. Hook didn't even have to ask him. If there was anything, he didn't care what, that he could do to help Lona, he would.  
  
"There will be someone to take your blood for testing up in a little bit," Chris said as Hook moved away from Lona's bedside once again,  
reassured that for the moment she was stable.  
  
He nodded. "Chris, make sure they get Thompson found fast. If this spreads, we could be in big trouble." 


	4. chapter 4

Chris had shed the protective suit as soon as she was away from the isolation room. She knew that she needed to go and find Louis, to let him know what was happening, needed to contact the local police again and see what was going on with getting Thompson picked up, but she felt herself slumping back against the wall instead, tears slipping down her cheeks despite how hard she tried to resist the urge to cry. Hook had been exposed to whatever Lona was infected with and from the look of things, the illness definately had the potential to be fatal. Okay, Lona was alive for the moment but she wasn't breathing on her own, wasn't responding, who knew if the important parts of her were still even there or if the machines were just keeping alive an emply shell? If Hook were infected.... They had just found each other and Chris had to admit that she had been hesitent about persuing a relationship with him at first, especially after her last disasterous relationship but there was just something about Hook that had quickly won her over. Now she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without him as a part of it. If he were infected.... She was barely able to stiffle a sob at that thought. No, she couldn't loose him, not when they had barely had a chance to be together!  
  
"Chris?" She heard a voice calling her name and looked up to find Louis standing there, his eyes full of concern as he looked down at her.  
  
Louis. Just the sight of him made Chris want to cry harder. How in the world was she ever going to break this to him? When his first son had died, everyone had thought that the loss was going to kill Louis. Could he handle knowing that his only remaining child might be in danger now as well?  
  
"Chris?" Louis said her name again, his concern growing as he reached down, helping his younger colleague to her feet. He had heard the rumors that Lona had suffered some sort of illness but no one seemed to know what was wrong with her or even if she was really sick. Louis knew that if Elmer heard that she might even have a sniffle, though, he would be right there hovering around her and making a pest of himself. Best for him to retrieve his son before he annoyed Lona too much.  
  
"Louis, I think we need to go somewhere and talk," Chris said slowly, trying to think of how in the world she could give him this news as she motioned for him to follow her down the hallway towards the closest lounge.  
  
"Chris, what's going on?" Louis asked as he followed beside her,  
making sure to say close. The young woman looked shaky and very unsteady on her feet and Louis was more than a bit concerned that she might pass out at any moment.  
  
"Have you heard about Lona?" Chris asked as soon as they entered the lounge and she had the door firmly shut. She drifted towards the pot of coffee as she spoke. She had a feeling that she might need a jolt of caffine soon.  
  
"There are all sorts of rumors going around. They say that she's sick or...." Louis felt a cold chill as he thought of one think he had heard from a nursing student, that Lona was dead. No, he wouldn't even let himself thing about that rumor being true. If Lona died....  
  
"She's definately sick," "Chris said slowly as she sipped the coffee, stil hoping that some idea for breaking the news gently would come to her. She looked up at the clock as she talked, amazed to note that it hadn't even been and hour since Elmer had found Lona and things had gone crazy. "Elmer found her about an hour ago down in the sleep lab." She closed her eyes, biting her lip as she thought of the condition that Lona had been in, the condition that Hook could be in soon if they didn't do something. "She was unconscious, not breathing, no heartbeat." She didn't open her eyes as she continued to speak, keeping her head down. She was very afraid of how Louis would take this.  
  
Louis paled slightly when what Chris was saying started to sink in.  
Cardiac arrest? If Lona had had a cardiac arrest then.... "How...." he wasn't sure that he really wanted to know the answer to the question he was trying to ask though, wanted to know if Lona was still alive or not. She was his friend as well as a co-worker and it had only been a short time since his former wife's death. He really didn't want to have to go to anymore funerals right now. Then there was how it would effect his son if Lona died. Louis had always tried to convince himself that Elmer's feelings for Lona were nothing but a crush that he would grow out of, not wanting to think that it could be serious, not wanting to think of his son getting hurt since Lona obviously didn't feel the same way. Crush or not,  
though, Louis knew that Elmer would be devistated if Lona suddenly died.  
He felt tears starting to sting his eyes as he thought of his son. How much more loss could that boy take? At his age, he was a little more prepared for it although loosing Emma and his son had almost destroyed him.  
Elmer, though, was just so young for so many hurts.  
  
"They were able to revive her relatively quickly." Chris looked up at Louis as she spoke now, walking over to his side and laying a hand on his shoulder. He obviously hadn't realized it yet but there was even worse news coming. "They've got her in isolation right now on life support."  
  
"Isolation?" Louis looked at Chris in puzzlement. Why would they have Lona in isolation? He had been thinking something like a heart attack although Lona was a bit young for that but....  
  
"She was burning up with a fever when Elmer found her. She's got some kind of wierd infection. We're not sure what yet. Hook thinks she might have been infected when she picked up Dr. Thompson at the airport."  
Chris told him.  
  
"Infection." Suddenly it was starting to sink in what was goin on,  
why Chris was now looking at him with such concern. "Elmer!" Oh, my.  
Elmer, she said that Elmer was the one who found Lona! No, his son couldn't....  
  
"Elmer and Hook are both in isolation with her until we can figure out if they were infected or not." Chris said with a shake of her head and a sad look up at Louis. She was barely able to control the urge to cry as she thought of Hook possibly becoming ill and she knew that it had to be a million times worse for Louis. Elmer was all that he had left.  
  
Louis struggled for control, fought to keep from screaming as images raced though his mind, of his son suffering, dying of a third grave in a row. No, this couldn't be..... "I want to see him!" He demanded as he faced Chris. He knew he had badly goofed up things with Elmer, with both of his sons, actually. There was no way that he would not be there with his son when he was facing possible death. Death. How could Elmer.  
Louis closed his eyes, starting to silently pray. Please, no matter what,  
he didn't want to loose his son.  
  
"You'll have to wear a protective suit," Chris said gently,  
patting Louis's shoulder as she talked. "Come on, I'll take you down there. Elmer could probably use some comfort about now. He's worried sick about Lona." 


	5. chapter 5

Elmer didn't even look up when he heard the door open again. Hook had told him to hold Lona's hand to try to talk to her and keep her calm and that was the only thing that he was going to let himself worry about right now. He reached out, gently brushing a stray lock of hair off of her forehead. She was still so hot. Why weren't the cooling blankets working and bringing the fever down? She had to be miserable with a temperature like that.  
  
"Hook...." Elmer started to say and he turned his head for a moment only to stop in puzzlement when he saw the nurse drawing a sample of blood from Hook now. Now why would they be doing that? Not that he objected to them finding someone else to poke, of course. Lona had been used for a pin cushion more than enough!  
  
"Roll up your sleeve, Elmer." Hook said as he took the pills that another nurse handed and tossed them back with a glass of water. They're going to need blood from you too."  
  
"What, why?" Elmer asked as he obeyed the order. "Did Lona run out of blood for them to take?" That wouldn't surprise him with the amount of blood that he had seen them removing. Really, what could they possibly need that much blood for? They better not be doing an impromptue experiment on blood loss with Lona as their guinea pig, is all that he could say!  
  
Hook walked slowly to the younger doctor's side before speaking.  
He was very uncertain about how to handle breaking this news to Elmer. He obviously hadn't realized yet why they were in isolation with Lona and what might very well happen to them shortly. Hook didn't want to frighten him and yet and the same time he knew that Elmer needed to know the truth of the situation, to be prepared.  
  
"Elmer, when you found Lona, you didn't have any sort of protection and neither did I," Hook said in what he hoped would be a gentle enough tone. "Whatever this is that's making her so sick, you and I were both exposed to it."  
  
Elmer felt a cold feeling of fear wash over him at Hook's words but that was replaced a moment later by a sudden calm. Okay, he knew it wasn't good that they had been exposed to what was making Lona so sick necessarily, and Elmer was definately sorry Hook had been exposed but.  
If they had it as well, that meant that the doctors could use them as guinea pigs and amuse themselves poking and proding them instead of hurting Lona further!  
  
"What else do they need?" He asked as the nurse inserted the needle into his arm and started to draw the blood. Normally he would have cringed but not now, not after seeing how much Lona had been poked. The least he could do was take a few needles for her sake.  
  
"Right now, just blood. And there are antibiotics they want us to start on as a precaution. If we are infected, then it might keep it from getting as severe." Hook watched Elmer closely. He had expected that the younger doctor would have at least a bit of a visible panic but as far as Hook could tell, he didn't seem unduely alarmed at all by the news. Either Elmer was much braver than Hook had given him credit for before or he was just too wrapped up in Lona to comprehend the potential seriousness of the situation. And Hook had a feeling which of the two it was.  
  
"Lona's on them too, right?" Elmer looked from the pills that the nurse had handed him to Lona's still form. He wasn't going to take anything until he made sure that it wasn't something that could be better used to help Lona!  
  
"They're giving her something through the IV," Hook said with a nod, motioning for Elmer to take the pills as he moved over to Lona's bedside, looking up at the monitors for a moment. Blast! That fever hadn't reacted at all although they were pumping Lona full of medications trying to get it under control. What was this thing?  
  
He motioned for the nurse to follow him away from the bed before quietly giving her orders. "Get a portable EEG machine up here as soon as possible." He didn't want to think about it and would certainly not say anything about it to Elmer but Hook knew that the fever that had Lona in it's grips was more than high enough to possibly cause her to suffer brain damage. As the nurse headed out the door to carry out his orders, he moved over to join Elmer at Lona's side once more.  
  
The younger doctor didn't even look up when Hook reached out and gently touched Lona's hand for a moment before sinking into one of the chairs. 'Lona,' he thought as he looked from her still body to Elmer sitting beside her trying to keep up a steady stream of reassuring chatter.  
'You just hold on for us, okay?' He didn't even want to think of how Elmer would take it if it turned out that Lona had suffered brain damage or died of the disease. Just seeing her sick seemed to be totally taring him apart.  
  
Just then Hook heard the door open and turned as Chris came in followed by Louis. Hook stood, moving off to the side as Louis approached,  
nodding with understanding at the other doctor. This had to be killing Louis after how he had lost his other son.  
  
"Elmer?" Louis whispered as he looked down at his son and then at Lona, barely able to keep his emotions under control at the sight of her,  
wrapped in cooling blankets with a respirator breathing for her and wires and tubes everywhere. His son, that could be his son soon and.... He fought against the panic, though, forcing it back down firmly as he took a close look at Elmer. He seemed to be healthy. Maybe.... But if he wasn't infected yet, he certainly didn't need to be in here with Lona considering her condition! Every moment he was exposed would increase the odds that.... There were other isolation rooms, They could just put Elmer into one of those until they found out if he was okay or not.  
  
"Dad?" Elmer said quietly, looking at his father with pleading in his eyes before Louis could say anything to Hook about wanting Elmer in another room away from Lona. "Dad, please, can't you do something to help Lona? She's really sick." Elmer looked down at her once more, gently touching her hand before turning back to his father. "Please, help her!"  
He couldn't loose Lona, he just couldn't! 


	6. chapter 6

Louis stared down at his son, slowly shaking his head. He just couldn't believe it. Here Elmer was facing possible death and yet his only thought was for Lona. He wasn't sure if that would count as very brave behavior or very stupid behavior.  
  
"Son?" Louis said softly as he approached Elmer, reaching out and drawing his son up into an embrace. If only he didn't have to wear the blasted protective suit. This might be one of the last times that he could be with his son and to have this barrier between them almost drove him crazy. "Son, how are you feeling?" Elmer didn't look sick. Wasn't that a good sign? Okay, he knew it hadn't been long enough since Elmer had been exposed to tell if he had been infected but Louis clutched at any bit of hope that he could find. He couldn't lose his son, he couldn't!  
  
"Scared," Elmer whispered, letting himself sink into his dad's embrace a little. "She wasn't breathing and I couldn't find a pulse and now she won't wake up." Elmer could feel tears starting to form once more and he had to fight to keep them from falling. He didn't want Lona to hear him crying if she was able to hear in her condition. He didn't want to frighten her. He was just so scared though. What if he didn't find her in time? What if.... "Dad, do they know what's wrong with her yet?" They had pretty much drained all of Lona's blood. Shouldn't they know what was wrong with her already with how much blood they had taken?  
  
Louis looked at his son, fighting so hard to control his sobs but fear apparent on his face. Bravery or stupidity? He wasn't sure which one it was but.... He shook his head slightly once more. It was obvious that there was no way that he would get his son to move from Lona's bedside at this point, even if it might save his own life. He looked over at Lona,  
fear washing over him seeing her lying there like that. Not only fear for his son ending up in that condition though, but fear for her as well. Lona had been a very good friend over the years and it would break his heart to lose her. He slowly approached the bed, easing Elmer back into the chair he had been occupying before reaching out and gently taking Lona's hand for just a moment. He closed his eyes as he lowered her hand back to the bed once more after several minutes. He wasn't sure what it was but there was something different, something that he vaguely felt wen he held her hand.  
Like some part of her was missing, perhaps. He shook his head as he backed towards the door, motioning for Hook to follow him. He had had that same vague feeling before with some of his patients and it had never been a good sign.  
  
"How bad is it, really?" he asked quietly, glad that his son seemed to be wrapped up in fussing over Lona once more and didn't seem like he was paying attention to what he and Hook were discussing.  
  
Hook paused for a moment, looking over at Lona and Elmer. He didn't want to say this, but he supposed Louis deserved to know what they were dealing with. "It's bad." he said slowly, keeping his voice low as well. "She hasn't shown any response ever since she was revived, hasn't tried to breathe on her own. It's bad."  
  
"Brain damage?" Louis asked. He felt the suit starting to fog up slightly as a tear slipped from his eyes despite his best efforts to shove his emotions down. He wasn't sure what would hurt Elmer the most, to have Lona die cleanly or to have her live but not be the woman he cared for any longer.  
  
"I'm getting an EEG to run some tests but we can't rule it out considering we have no idea how long she might have been in cardiac arrest before Elmer found her. She responded quickly but...." Hook shook his head, knowing that there really wasn't much more that he could say, that Louis would understand exactly what the situation was and what it meant.  
  
Louis slowly nodded. "Just make sure that she isn't in any pain,  
Hook." He ordered. If there wasn't anything that could be done to save Lona, at least he could do that much for her, to spare her pain at the end.  
He looked sadly at his son once more. Would Elmer survive if Lona died?  
  
"Elmer, I have to go now and take a look at one of Hook's patients but I'll be back, alright?" Louis said as he approached the bed again,  
reaching out and hugging his son to him. He had to struggle to keep the fear out of his voice as he spoke.  
  
Elmer slowly nodded. "Dad, just please, please talk to them. Make sure that they're doing everything they can to help Lona." Elmer pleaded as his father headed towards the door.  
  
"Louis?" Chris said gently once they were outside the room and out of the protective suits. The older doctor slumped to the floor much like she had earlier and a moment latter she joined him.  
  
"He loves her. He really, truely loves her," Louis whispered with a shake of his head. He had always been afraid that it was true and now it had been confirmed. His son really did love Lona and if she didn't survive.... He slowly shook his head. he didn't want to loose his son. 


	7. chapter 7

Chris sat by Louis on the floor, trying to comfort him as best she could although fear for Hook was almost overpowering her. The thought of loosing him when they had just found each other.... She was barely able to suppress a sob at the thought.  
  
'Pull yourself together, Chris.' She told herself sternly as she looked over at Louis, sitting there looking so shocked and devastated. She couldn't let herself give in to the panic, not now when there were other people here who needed her to be strong. Letting herself panic would only make the situation worse.  
  
"He's going to be okay, Louis." Chris said softly as she wrapped an arm around the other doctor's shoulder. "All three of them are going to be okay. We can't think any differently and go to pieces right now. We're their best chance."  
  
Louis nodded, trying to pull himself together with a visible effort. He knew that what Chris was saying was true, that they had to stay strong to be of any use. Just the thought of his son becoming ill though,  
maybe dying.... "Do they have any clue what Lona has yet?" he asked.  
  
"Not yet. They're doing blood tests right now and checking Elmer and Hook too for any sign that they might be infected." Okay, it felt slightly wrong to think this, knowing that being left alone with only people covered in suits wouldn't be good for Lona's well being. She desperately hoped that the tests would turn out negative, though, so they could get them out of there. "They started both of them on antibiotics right away as well as a precaution so even if they do get sick, there's no reason to assume...." She paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to continue. "There's no reason to assume that they'll end up as sick as Lona." Although she referred to Lona as merely sick, deep down, the word dying echoed in her head.  
  
Louis nodded, looking back towards the room once more before pulling himself up and helping Chris to her feet. "So, what can I do to help?" He had to be active, to be doing something so that the memories of those that he had lost, Emma, Edgar, wouldn't torment him, haunting him with the fear that Elmer would be next.  
  
"Best thing you can do for the moment is to go and keep an eye on Mr. Rickman and Sally Druse. Hook definitely doesn't want Stegman getting anywhere near either of them." Chris said with a shake of her head. If Steg got a hold of Sally, she didn't know what the doctor might end up doing to her. His hatred for the older woman was way beyond unreasonable in its intensity.  
  
"Keeping Steg away from the patients. Definitely a good idea.  
Someone really should have tried that before now and kept him far from Mona Klingerman. "What are you going to do?"  
  
"Go down to the lab and see what they've found so far with the blood tests." Chris said as the two doctors started towards the elevators.  
"And call the police again to see if they've found Thompson yet. We really need him in here if he was the original carrier."  
  
Louis shook his head slowly at the mention of Thompson, knowing how badly his son had wanted the other doctor to remain in Africa, far from Lona. Looked like Elmer might have had the right idea about putting distance between them and Thompson.  
  
"It shouldn't take long to check on Mr. Rickman and Sally." he said as they waited for the elevator. He brightened slightly at the thought of Sally. He knew her from her work as a hospital volunteer, of course, and although he thought some things that she said about the spirits might be a bit out there, he still liked her. In a way her talk of spirits was a bit of a comfort, let him think that Edgar and Emma were both in a better place and happy now. "Do you want me to meet you in the lab after I check on them?"  
  
Chris nodded before stepping into the elevator heading down. She slumped back against the wall, fear washing over her once more. She let herself go slightly knowing that no one was there to see her. If they couldn't figure this out and quickly.... A tear slowly ran down her cheek.  
If anything happened to Hook when they had just found each other.... And Elmer and Lona. Lona was her friend and she was starting to rapidly develop a liking for the quirky young doctor.  
  
As she stepped off the elevator, her pager started to vibrate,  
sending her rushing for the nearest phone, hoping it was the police calling with good news. As soon as she reached the lab, she hurried across to the phone and punched the number her pager was showing in.  
  
Several minutes later, Chris put the phone down once more, barely able to believe what the police had just told her. Thompson was dead,  
apparently of the same thing that killed Lona. Now what were they going to do? He had been the best hope for finding out exactly what this thing was and how to treat it. What were they going to do? 


	8. chapter 8

Elmer looked up as a nurse came in pushing a machine that was very familiar after his time volunteering down in the sleep lab. "An EEG?" He asked as he looked up at Hook, suddenly feeling very nervous. Why would Hook have an EEG brought in here unless he thought that something was seriously wrong with Lona, that she had brain damage or.... Elmer bit his lip, a frightened look in his eyes as if the familiar machine was a deadly snake. If anything was wrong with Lona, it was his fault! He should have found her faster, got CPR started faster, done something better!  
  
"Elmer, it's just a precaution, okay?" Hook said to reassure the young doctor as he got the electrodes out and started to attach them to Lona's head. Deep down he was seriously concerned about Lona's lack of response to any stimuli since they had revived her. If there was damage,  
that could be a bad sign that it was severe. He shook his head firmly,  
forcing that thought away. No, he wasn't going to think like that, not yet. Lona was still young and until this happened, she had been perfectly healthy. She still had a very good chance of coming out of this just fine.  
  
"That one's a little off," Elmer said as he watched Hook attacking the electrodes. He reached out, carefully moving it into the right position. "What?" He said when he noticed Hook looking at him with a bit of suprise. "I've seen Lona hook these things up about a million times. I know how it's done."  
  
Hook shook his head slightly. "Want to attach the rest of these then?" He said as he held out the rest of the electrodes to Elmer. Maybe that would help him a bit, giving him a task he could do that might help Lona.  
  
"What are you looking for?" Elmer asked in a slightly nervous tone as he took the electrode and quickly attached them. As he worked, he felt the fear slowly building. What if the EEG showed something wrong with Lona, something serious? Or even worse, what if it was flat? What if she was....  
  
Hook reached out, gently patting Elmer's shoulder to try and reassure him. "I'm just looking for any sort of clue to try to figure out what this thing is, Elmer." He said softly. Elmer was obviously emotionally distraught and mentioning possible brain damage would only make him worse. "Why don't you just keep talking to her while I get this running and we'll see if we can get a clue what's going on here."  
  
Elmer slowly nodded but the fear remained in his eyes as he took Lona's hand in his. "It's going to be okay," He whispered as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. He bit his lip once more to try to keep from crying as he felt her hot skin. The cooling blankets and the medicines they were pumping into her didn't seem to have helped the fever at all. How long could Lona last with a temperature like that? He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling tears building up that he didn't dare let fall. If he lost her.... He knew everyone thought that his feelings for Lona were just a crush but Elmer knew that it was something far more. She was the first woman that he had ever loved and seeing her like this....  
  
"It's going to be okay." He whispered again into her ear. He forced himself to block out Hook, to block out the sounds of the medical equipment, as he focused totally on Lona. "I know that you think that the way I feel is just a crush but I swear to you this is something more. I had my share of relationships, I guess, in high school and college." He shook his head slowly as he thought back. Relationships. Somehow that word didn't sound quite right for what had at the most amounted to three dates per girl. "I almost had to. Dad got so freaked if he didn't see Edgar and I doing 'normal' stuff, like he thought our mom walking out on us would scar us for life or something. None of them ever really lasted though. They just weren't right somehow. But when I saw you, something just clicked and I knew that you were the woman I had been waiting for.  
You have to get better, Lona. I love you." She gently kissed her forehead once more, a tear slowly running down his face and falling onto her flushed face. "I love you."  
  
As Elmer talked, Hook was carefully studying the EEG readout. To his relief, there were definitely brain waves. He had feared deep down that the readout might be totally flat, signally brain death. The brain waves were much weaker than they should be in certain places, though,  
wildly erratic in others. He shook his head slowly. That could be a sign of brain damage, he knew, but it could also be some sort of reaction to whatever was making her so sick.  
  
As a nurse entered the room, Hook issued an order. "I want the equipment in here to do a spinal tap, stat."  
  
"Spinal tap?" Elmer said as he snapped out of the private little world he had somehow made with just him and Lona and back into the real world where she was fighting for her life. "Did the scan show anything?"  
How could it have had time to show anything? It seemed like Hook had just started it but when Elmer looked at the clock, almost fifteen minutes had passed.  
  
There are some things I'm a bit concerned about." Hook said slowly as he looked at the readouts once more. He knew that the areas of slowed activity could simply be due to Lona's unconscious state but he knew that he would be remiss if he didn't check everything. "I want a spinal tap to see if this, whatever it is, might be going to her brain." It actually might be a good sign if it was attacking her nervous system in a manner similar to meningitis. They knew how to treat that, at least.  
  
Elmer cringed as the original nurse entered along with an assistant. "No," he said softly but firmly as one of the nurses started to turn Lona onto her side and Hook and the other nurse started sitting out the supplies needed for the spinal tap. "I'll hold her." It was the least that he could do for Lona, to hold her when she went through something as painful as he knew this would be. "Hook, just be careful, okay?" He said as he stood, a hand on Lona's shoulders and hips as Hook withdrew the large spinal tap needle. He cringed as he saw the needle moving towards Lona's exposed back, turning his head slightly so he wouldn't see. "It's okay,  
Lona. It's going to be okay." He felt more tears starting to fall as he spoke. It had to be okay. He couldn't loose her now. 


	9. chapter 9

"Chris what's wrong?" Louis asked as he entered the lab. He could tell right away from the expression on the young woman's face that something had happened and not something good.  
  
"The police called. When they went to go pick Dr. Thompson up,  
they found him dead. Looks like the same thing that happened to Lona only Dr. Thompson didn't have anyone to find him in time like Lona had Elmer."  
Chris shook her head, focusing on memories of the late doctor to try to keep her mind off of the situation. Without him to give them a clue as to what he might have been exposed to.... "You know, Thompson was always antisocial. Why did Lona ever go out with him, anyway?"  
  
"Desperation, remember?" Louis said with a slight chuckle. "Big banquet that she was going to to try to get more funding for the sleep lab?  
And then the...."  
  
"Right," Chris continued, shaking her head as well at the memory.  
Think on stuff like that, just keep focusing on stuff like that. "And food poisoning had taken out every man in the hospital under the age of eighty except for Thompson somehow. Did they have figure out what caused that anyway?"  
  
"Something about bad coleslaw in the cafeteria, I think." Louis said as he shook his head. "You know, Elmer was acting so freaked today about Thompson coming back. I should have told him that he didn't have anything to worry about but...." Louis sobered as he thought of his son.  
He had been so busy, hadn't really paid much attention to Elmer except to point out every little thing that he did wrong. He felt tears stinging his eyes as he thought of that, that that might be the last thing he ever did with his son and.... "Okay, with Thompson dead, what do we do now?" He shook his head slightly, forcing down his fear. He didn't have the time to fall apart, not when his son needed him. He had failed Elmer in so many ways as a father but this wasn't going to be one of those times, not if he had anything to do about it.  
  
"They're going to bring Thompson's body over here. We're the closest facility with the equipment to do an autopsy in isolation." Chris said with a shake of her head. "I need to talk to Dr. Havens, let him know what's going on and that we need him to put a rush on this. Thompson's dead and I don't even want to think about how much time Lona might have left. And then Hook and Elmer...." She wiped at her eyes, trying to keep Louis from noticing the tears that were slowly falling. No matter how hard she tried to be strong, she just couldn't quite force those tears away.  
  
"I'll talk to him and let him know," Louis handed Chris his handkerchief silently, otherwise pretending not to see that she was crying.  
Chris smiled slightly at Louis, glad that he didn't say anything,  
didn't draw attention to her tears. She shook her head slowly knowing that crying wasn't helping anything, that Louis wasn't breaking down and his son....  
  
"What else can we do?" Louis said, trying to focus Chris's attention on the situation at hand once more. That would help her more than any handkerchiefs or kind words would, being able to do something that might help bring this to an end.  
  
"The police contacted the airport." Chris said slowly as the two started out the door and down the hallway once more. "They're going to bring everyone on Thompson's plane in for examination. We'll have to set up and isolation area somewhere. I should probably go and warn Dr. James what's going on so he'll be prepared. This is surely going to bring media attention down on us and not the favorable kind he wants, either."  
  
"What about Africa?" Louis asked. "Thompson was working with a group of doctors over there. Maybe we could get in touch with them, see if they might have any clue what Thompson was doing, what he might have been exposed to?"  
  
"I've got a call in to them. Otto's going to page me when it finally goes through. Apparently it's night and they kind of have a problem with cell phone reception in the middle of the jungle. Someone's going to have to drive in and get one of them." Chris shook her head slowly, trying to figure out something, anything, to get her mind off the situation at hand. "So, how were Sally and Peter?"  
  
"Fine as far as I could tell," Louis said. "I told Sally what happened. She said something about talking to Mary, seeing if she could help. Who's...."  
  
"Mary is a long story." Chris said. Could Mary help maybe? Chris couldn't believe that she was thinking that, of despirately pleading for help from a ghost but.... She closed her eyes for a moment, slumping back against the wall. She couldn't loose Hook, she just couldn't.  
  
"Chris, we're going to figure this out." Louis told her in a firm tone as he came over and put his hand on her shoulder, drawing the young woman close into a comforting hug. "We're going to figure this out." They had to figure it out. He refused to even consider the notion that he might lose his son. 


	10. chapter 10

"Chris, did you find out anything?" Hook had stood as he saw the familiar figure enter, recognizing Chris even completely covered with the protective suit. He moved to her side before talking, not wanting Elmer to overhear in came the news was bad. He shook his head as he glanced over at Elmer, sitting there with Lona clinging to her hand and softly whispering in her ear. He probably wouldn't hear anything even if they were shouting right next to him.  
  
"The police went to pick up Thompson but he was dead when they got there. Looks like the same thing that Lona has. They're bringing the body here now for an autopsy. Louis is downstairs helping Dr. Havens get things ready." Chris looked anxiously at Hook as she spoke, searching for any signs that he might becoming ill. Did he look a bit paler or.... No, she wouldn't let herself go there, becoming paranoid that any tiny difference could signal the beginning of the end.  
  
Hook nodded in response to what Chris had told him. He really had expected as much after seeing the condition that Lona had been in when Elmer found her. Even though he was expecting it, though, the unwelcome news still caused feeling of frustration Thompson had been their best hope for finding out what this thing was quickly and now with him gone.... His mind raced as he tried to think of other avenues, other options that they could explore now that the Thompson route was blocked.  
  
"How's she holding out?" Chris asked, snapping Hook back to the current situation once more. She looked around the room before her eyes settled on the EEG machine. Hook had decided to leave it attached and monitoring Lona's brainwaves for a bit longer, hoping that it might detect something, anything, that could help them. "You're doing an EEG?" Chris felt a sudden fear as she realized what might have motivated Hook to run that particular test. "You think she...." She couldn't bring herself to mention brain damage, not with Elmer in here. Even if he didn't seem to be paying attention to them, who knows what he might hear.  
  
"It's a possibility." Hook said with a grim look on his face. He didn't even want to think about how Elmer would take it if it turned out that Lona had suffered brain damage. "There are some abnormalities but I can't say for sure right now if they're simply a reaction to the fever or if...."Hook didn't say the words but Chris understood what he was talking about. "We did a spinal tap to rule of the infection going to her brain."  
  
Chris frowned slightly. "How did Elmer take that?" Apparently he had taken it a bit better than expected considering the fact he was apparently still functional instead of passed out cold on the ground like she would have expected.  
  
"Better than I thought. He wouldn't let the nurse hold her,  
insisted on doing it himself. Acted like the needle was going in his spine instead of hers, though." Hook frowned slightly as he recalled the procedure. Although Elmer had shown almost physical signs of pain at seeing Lona go through it, Lona herself hadn't reacted in any way to the pain of the test.  
  
"She didn't react to it at all, did she?" Chris said with a sad look almost reading Hook's mind.  
  
"No, and she really should have shown some sort of response. I'm keeping the EEG on her. A longer readout might give me a clue of what's going on in there. Come take a look at what it's showing so far. You might have some suggestions. Some areas there's practically no activity while others.... I wish we had another readout on her for a comparision.  
Might give me an idea if this is normal for her or not. I always did say that Lona was a little strange."  
  
"So says the man who lives in the hospital basement and claims to have seen a little ghost girl," Chris said with a slight chuckle as she followed Hook across the room to the EEG machine.  
  
"As they approached, Elmer looked up anxiously. "Have you found out what this is yet?" He demanded. "Has Thompson told you what he did to make Lona so sick?" He looked back down at Lona's still form once more as he finished speaking. Helplessness in the face of whatever had happened to her visible in his eyes. He couldn't even put a cool cloth on her forehead because of the electrodes.  
  
"Elmer." Chris hated to tell Elmer this, knowing that it would only upset him more but also knowing that he deserved to be treated as an adult, to know exactly what they were dealing with here. Chris went over to his side, laying a gloved hand gently on his shoulder. "Elmer, the police went to pick up Dr. Thompson but when they got there he was already dead. Apparently the same thing happened to him that happened to Lona in the sleep lab. Only he didn't have anyone to save him like you saved Lona."  
  
"He's dead?" Elmer whispered as he looked up at Chris. Okay, the idea of a lion eating Thompson had crossed his mind a few times but he hadn't wanted the doctor actually DEAD! And if he was dead then how in the world were they going to find out what he infected Lona with and how to help her? Panic washed over him as the hit him and he felt tears starting to build once more. No, Lona couldn't die, she just couldn't!  
  
"Your dad and I are working on trying to figure this out, Elmer."  
Chris said gently. The hurt look on Elmer's face almost caused her physical pain as well. "We're not going to give up on Lona. We're going to fix this. They're going to do an autopsy on Thompson, see if that might give them an idea of what this could be and I've got a call in to the doctors that he worked with in Africa for help." She shook her head slightly as she thought of the long distance phone call. Steg and Jesse were both going to hit the roof wheen they got that bill. "You just try to stay strong for her, okay?" She reached out, gently touching Elmer's shoulder for a moment before moving away to the doorway with Hook beside her.  
  
"I better get back out there and see if there's been any reply to my call yet." Chris said, her eyes tearing slightly as she looked at Hook.  
He seemed healthy but what if.... She didn't want to leave, didn't want to waste what might be their last few remaining hours together scurrying around the hospital in a despirate search for a solution but....  
  
"Chris, if there's anyone that I would trust to figure this thing out, it's you." Hook reached out as if to touch her face, only to be stopped by the protective covering. "You're going to do it. I believe in you."  
  
Chris drew herself up once more. She knew that Hook's words were intended as a pep talk but they made her reach inward, tapping reserves of strength that she hadn't been sure that she had. She was going to find a way to beat this thing, she had too.  
  
"I'll be back in just a little while and I'll see if Louis can get Lona's medical file pulled for you, see if there might be something in there that would help." Chris said in a soft tone as she reached for the door. "Try not to let Elmer drive you too crazy with his panicking, okay?  
I'll be back as soon as I can, hopefully with good news." 


	11. chapter 11

Chris had just shed the protective suit when her pager begin to signal her. She looked down, sighing with relief when she saw that the number was Otto's.  
  
"Excuse me. Just need to borrow this for a minute." She said as she hurried to the nurse's station, nudging one of the nurses out of the way and she reached out and grabbed the phone. Please, please let those doctors in Africa have some good news for, have a way to treat this,  
whtever it was.  
  
"Otto, did they call back?" she asked as he picked up the phone.  
  
"Okay." She waited for what felt like forever as Otto transfered the call,  
hoping that he wouldn't accidentally hit a wrong button and disconnect them. "Hello, Dr. Mobanga? This is Chris Draper from Kingdom Hospital in Maine. I'm really sorry to disturb you at this hour but we have a little situation here. A doctor from our hospital, a Dr. Thompson...."  
  
Chris winced visiably as she heard the doctor's reaction upon hearing Thompson's name. Just great. Bad enough that Thompson had drove them nearly all nuts when he was here. Now he had to go and try driving them nuts in Africa too. She just hoped that that wouldn't interfere with their willingness to help find a solution to this problem.  
  
"Yes, I understand. Dr. Thompson was a bit of a problem for us here at the Kingdom as well." A problem. Now that was an understatement.  
Dr. James had had to send him to Africa to keep Nurse Nancy over in proctology from killing him. "Uhuh. Yes, well I'm very sorry to hear that." Chris felt herself drifting into a kind of trance as she listened to the doctor rant and rave against Thompson, they ocassional "I'm sorry"  
about the only words that she could get into the conversation.  
  
Finally, the sight of a very worried looking Louis stepping off of the elevator snapped her out of her rant induced daze. "Excuse me! Dr.  
Mobanga? I really hate to interrupt your detailed list of Dr. Thompson's failings. I didn't know that there were quite so many of them to be honest." Chris said with a frown. "We have a little situation here that I'm despirately needing some help with. It seems that Dr. Thompson took ill shortly after arriving back in Maine and...." Oh, great. He was ranting again. "No! I'm not asking for help for him! He's dead! Yes, I promise that he's dead! No, we didn't drive a stake through his heart but...." She nodded for a moment waving to Louis to come over and join her as she listened. "I will let the doctor doing the autopsy know to do that though. Thank you for suggesting it. I really didn't call to find out how to keep Dr. Thompson from crawling out of his grave either though.  
Although I am glad to know that. The problem is that another of our doctors is ill with whatever killed Dr. Thompson and we've got two other doctors that might have been exposed."  
  
"Symptoms." Chris nodded, glad that the mention of people other than Thompson were ill had snapped the doctor out of his rantings about the problems that the other doctor had caused. "The major one is the fever.  
It's spiking at around an 103 and nothing we're doing seems to be bringing it down. She had a cardiac arrest that we were able to bring her out of.  
There hasn't been any sort of response ever since that and she still isn't breathing on her own. Very rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, her white cell count is through the roof."  
  
"Chris listened silently for several minutes before speaking.  
"Okay. Well, I'll be waiting for your call. Just please, please hurry."  
  
"Well, does he know what it is?" Louis demanded as Chris hung up the phone.  
  
"Maybe." She slowly shook her head. Okay, what she had heard sounded a bit odd but they worked in a haunted hospital after all. What could be stranger than that? "He does know what Thompson was doing right before he left to return here." As she talked, she and Louis slowly walked down the hall, heading back towards the isolation room once more. If there wasn't anything they could do at the moment to actually make things better,  
then they were going to at least be there to offer whatever comfort they could. "Apparently Thompson got hooked up with this tiny little tribe that passes through the area occassionally. Dr. Mobanga says they're very reclusive and have a strict sense of honor. Anyway, Thompson got caught with the chief's daughter and needless to say, daddy was not pleased."  
  
"I wouldn't be either. Thompson's an idiot." Louis said with a shake of his head and a slight chuckle. "I definately wouldn't want stupidity like that in my family."  
  
"Neither did the chief, apparently because he did something to Thompson. Dr. Mobanga thinks that whatever he did might have been what killed Thompson and almost killed Lona. He's going to try to catch up with the tribe and try to talk to the chief, see if he can get him to tell him what he did."  
  
"What do we do until then?" Louis asked. The idea that someone could actually do something that would cause an illness like this seemed a little far out there to him but in a way, it gave him hope as well. If this tribal chief could cause this, then maybe he would also know how to cure it.  
  
"We pray?" Chris said softly as she looked up at Louis, trying to hide her growing fears. 


	12. chapter 12

"Elmer?" Hook said as he moved over to join his friend at Lona's bedside once more. He stopped as he saw the expression on Elmer's face,  
like a million different emotions were warring for control. "Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
"I didn't really want him to be eaten by a lion," Elmer whispered as he looked over at Hook. "I mean, okay, I sometimes thought about it,  
you know, so he wouldn't come back here, but I didn't really want it to happen."  
  
"You mean Thompson?" Hook said with a soft chuckle. "Elmer, no one would blame you if you had really wanted a lion to eat him. Well,  
maybe the lion. It would have probably got food poisoning. Thompson drove everyone nuts, remember?"  
  
"He didn't drive Lona nuts. She dated him." Elmer said quietly.  
He wasn't sure if Lona could hear them or not but if she could, he didn't want this to be the way that she found out about Thompson's death. How was he ever going to break that news to her?  
  
"Elmer," Hook shook his head as he looked at the expression on the young man's face. "I promise you that Lona was just as annoyed with Thompson as everyone else in this hospital was." Really, for the amount of time that Elmer spent hovering around Lona like a puppy dog, how in the world did he manage to miss that?  
  
"But she went out with him. Why would she go out with him if she didn't...." Oh, Elmer desperately hoped that Hook was right, not really for his sake anymore but so that Lona would be spared losing someone that she cared about. Elmer would never, ever want her to have to go through that. He had been through it himself way too much.  
  
"She needed an escort to a banquet to try to raise money for the sleep lab and every other man in the hospital besides him was sick with food poisoning, remember?" Surely Elmer couldn't have forgotten something like the almost epidemic like food poisoning that had swept the hospital,  
nearly forcing them to shut down for two days until they had some staff on their feet again.  
  
"Vaguely?" Elmer could recall just a bit the Friday night he had spent stuck in the bathroom on the first floor feeling like every meal that he had ever eaten was suddenly coming back up on him but he had always thought it was a reaction to seeing Lona walking out the door with Thompson escorting her. Food poisoning. That would explain why he kept hearing other retching sounds in the bathroom. "But she went out with him again.  
Why would she if she didn't like him?"  
  
"Payback for him taking her to the banquet on short notice," Hook said as he laughed slightly again, patting Elmer's shoulder reassuringly as he did so. "I heard from Nurse Von Trier that the evening ended with Lona slapping him and telling him never to speak to her again. I hate to imagine what she would have done to pay Jesse back for making her go and pick up Thompson."  
  
"So, she didn't really like him?" Elmer asked quietly, suddenly feeling better and more for Lona than for himself.  
  
"Definitely not." Hook patted Elmer's shoulder again. Okay, maybe this was wrong and Lona might kill him for it if she found out but the way Elmer was looking, his friend definitely needed some encouragement,  
something to give him some hope. "You still might have a chace with her,  
you know. You just come on a bit to strong, is all. And then there was that head. Women tend to not like presents like that."  
  
"I just want her to know how much I love her." Elmer whispered softly. He couldn't put into words why he felt the way that he did about Lona. It was more than looks or the notion of an older woman that he knew that some guys liked. It was.... well, just because she was Lona. There was no other way to describe it. He reached out and took her hand once more, gently pressing a kiss against her hot fingers. He felt tears starting to fill his eyes once more. "I love her. I don't want to lose her too,  
not like I lose everyone else." He kissed her fingers once more, his tears dropping down onto her. He lost everyone he cared about. If he had to sit here and watch as Lona died as well, he didn't think that he could take it.  
  
"Elmer, we're doing everything we can for her." Hook said quietly,  
suddenly getting a clue why Elmer might be pursuing Lona with the intensity that he did. Elmer had lost everyone that he cared about, his brother, his mother, and Hook knew that for some reason Elmer thought his father didn't really care for him. Maybe he went after Lona so much out of fear, fear that he might lose her as well. Hook reached out and gently patted Elmer's shoulder again. "You know, why don't you just try talking to Lona when she's feeling better?"  
  
"Do you think that might help?" Elmer asked as he looked over at Hook, a tiny bit of hope in his eyes along with worry. He wasn't the best with words, after all. Could he manage to say something to Lona, something that would let her know exactly how much he really did love her, how much she meant to him?  
  
"It's worth a shot." Hook said quietly. "Just try not to worry too much, okay? We're going to get this fixed." 


	13. chapter 13

Elmer suddenly stood. He couldn't stand it anymore, not just sitting there watching Lona struggling to stay with them without being able to do something, no matter how minor it was, for her. He hurried over to the bathroom, snagging a basin from one of the counters as he went. He had just started to turn the water on when a wave of dizziness washed over him,  
causing him to have to grip the edge of the sink tightly to keep from falling to the floor. As the dizziness slowly faded away, he reached up with a suddenly shaking hand and carefully felt of his forehead. Warm, the skin was definately warmer than it should be. With a shake of his head, he firmly shoved any concern for himself aside. It was probably just nerves making him feel this way, anyway. He didn't have time to get sick, not when Lona was so ill and he needed to tend to her. He quickly finished filling the basin with a couple of inches of cool water and headed back into the room once more, snagging a washcloth on his way.  
  
"I have to do something for her," He said quietly as he settled into the seat next to Lona's bedside once more, placing the basin on the bedside table before reaching out and taking her hand in his. He dipped the washcloth into the water with his free hand, wringing it out as best he could before pressing it against the almost burning hot skin on her neck.  
"Does that feel any better?" he whispered softly into her ear as he ran the washcloth across her neck, trying to touch every bit of skin that he could.  
  
"It's a good idea. Anything that might help with that fever at this point is good." Hook didn't see that a cool washcloth would be able to do a whole lot for Lona's fever considering the fact that the cooling blankets weren't even really touching it but he knew that the gesture would make Elmer feel a whole lot better. And who knows? Maybe it would make a difference with Lona as well, knowing that someone was there with her and trying their best to look after her.  
  
Just then, he heard the door open and turned as Chris entered followed by Louis. Hook hurried over to them, wanting to know if Chris had found out anything, wanting to have at least a moment or two to think about how to break it gently to Elmer if the news was bad.  
  
"Chris, have they called yet?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Just a few minutes ago. Apparently Thompson was as much a jerk in Africa as he was here. He got some tribal chief ticked with him. Dr.  
Mobanga thinks that the chief might have somehow caused this. I told him about Lona. He's going to try to hunt the chief down to see if he can find out more and hopefuly figure out a way to treat this if it is what he's thinking." Chris told him.  
  
An illness used as a punishment? Hook's brow furrowed as he thought about that. It seemed really out there but when he recalled the number of odd diseases that had come out of Africa.... The only issue would be how could it be spread to only the intended victim without infecting other innocent people as well. "Did he give you any ideas of what we could try in the meantime to see about getting this under control?"  
Hook asked quietly. "If we don't do something about that fever soon...."  
  
"He didn't mention anything. And who knows, he may be completely off base about what's causing the problem. I don't know." The more time she had to think about it, the more Chris's line of thinking had begun to resemble Hook's. It just might be possible to use a disease that way but if that was so, then how in the world did they keep other innocent people from getting infected. That was what they needed to learn as soon as possible.  
It might be the key to saving Hook and Elmer anyway. A second later, Chris shook her head as she realized what she had just done, in her mind automatically counting Lona off as a lost cause. She looked over towards the bed, trying to force herself to remember that Lona was still with them and they had every hope for saving her but seeing her friend there so helpless and broken looking she couldn't quite believe that the could still be hope.  
  
"Chris," Hook whispered softly, looking over to make sure that Elmer hadn't noticed them, "She isn't dead yet. Don't give up on her.  
We're going to work this out."  
  
As Hook and Chris talked, Louis drifted over to join his son at Lona's bedside. He knew that he should really stay with them, offer any help that he could to find a treatment but these might be some of the last moments he could spend with his son. He couldn't let them pass by. "How's she doing?" He asked quietly as he looked down at Lona's motionless body.  
Elmer couldn't bring himself to speak. He was afraid that if he did, he would start crying and he knew that that wasn't what Lona needed to hear at the moment. He shrugged slightly before wetting the washcloth once more and running it over her hot fingers. Could Lona feel it, could she feel anything right now? He hoped in a way that she was so deeply unconscious that she wasn't suffering but at the same time he wished more than anything that she was aware enough to hear him and know that he was there and how much he loved her.  
  
Louis shook his head slightly as he looked down at Elmer, his osn's fear for Lona written clearly on his face. Okay, maybe some would see it as stupid that Elmer was focusing so on saving Lona when his own life was in danger but.... But wasn't it also brave in a way too, to care so much for someone that you would risk yourself to save them? Louis shook his head softly as he settled into the chair next to Elmer, reaching out and drawing his son into an embrace.  
  
The hug was enough to break through the Elmer's slight attempt to hold it together and he felt himself starting to cry. "I'm scared, I'm so scared." He whispered. "Dad, I can't lose her but she just keeps getting weaker and weaker and.... Please, please can't you do something to help her? I can't lose her!"  
  
Louis closed his eyes for a moment at his son's plea for help.  
Elmer rarely asked him for any sort of assistance, like he felt his father would say no so why even bother trying. Now the one time Elmer needed him,  
all he could do was to hold him and pray. "Elmer, we're doing all we can for Lona. We're...." Suddenly Louis noticed something, even through the protective suit.. "Hook, get over here!"  
  
"What's wrong?" Hook asked as he and Chris hurried over, relief apparent when they saw that Louis hadn't called them for any problems with Lona at least.  
  
"Check him. I think he has a fever." Louis spoke slowly,  
heartbreak apparent in every word.  
  
"No I don't! I'm fine! Lona's the one that's sick, the one that we need to...." Elmer tried to squirm away but Hook caught him anyway,  
pressing one hand against his forehead. Not the most technical method of checking temperature, to be sure, but pretty accurate none the less.  
Hook pales slightly when he touched Elmer's skin, looking over at Louis with sudden pity and concern.  
  
"He has it, doesn't he?" Louis said quietly.  
  
"There's definitely a fever," Hook nodded slowly in response before turning towards Elmer once more. If he had what was making Lona so ill, how much more time did he have before he ended up in the same condition as her? 


	14. chapter 14

"Nothing's wrong with me!" Elmer insisted as he saw the way that his dad, Chris and Hook were looking at him, like the expected him to drop at any moment. "It's just the sniffles or something. I think a child might have coughed on me yesterday." He nodded vigorously as he spoke.  
Oh, this wasn't good. They were going to end up paying attention to him for absolutely no good reason when Lona was the one who needed their help!  
"Yes, a child. Looked very contagious too. I'm probably just coming down with that. Don't worry about me, not when Lona...." He stopped speaking as he stared down at the motionless figure of the woman that he loved. He didn't matter. Lona was the only thing that was important. If anything happened to her.... "Please, just worry about her. Please?"  
  
"Elmer, at the moment, I'm worried about both of you," Hook said with a shake of his head, exasperation slipping into his tone, as he reached out feeling of Elmer's forehead again. He was definitely starting to run a temperature. "Let's see about getting some more bloodwork drawn."  
  
"But I'm fine! It's just the sniffles!" Elmer insisted once more.  
He could tell by the way that they were looking that their focus was being taken right off of Lona and onto him, the last thing that he wanted to happen when she was so desperately ill. "Lona's the one who...."  
  
"I hope it's just the sniffles but I'm not willing to take any chances." Hook said quietly with a stern look. "Now why don't you just sit down while we see about getting someone in here to do the bloodwork?"  
When he saw the frightened look on Elmer's face and the way that he kept glancing over at Lona, he continued in a gentler tone. "Elmer, don't worry. We're not going to give up on Lona, okay? We're going to take care of both of you."  
  
Chris's eyes were filled with fright as she moved away from the bed to join Hook near the door. It had been maybe three hours and Elmer was starting to show signs of infection. How long did he have before he was in the same condition as Lona and then Hook? Was he infected as well? Chris bit her lip, shut her eyes to try to keep the tears that were welling up from falling. If anything happened to Hook now.... They had just found each other. She didn't think that she could take it if she lost him.  
  
"Chris, I'm thinking the antibiotics might be slowing this down."  
Hook said softly as he looked over at Elmer. Louis was at his son's side still, obviously torn over what to do, focus on comforting Elmer over Lona or focus on tending to Elmer instead. He shook his head slightly hoping that Louis went with the Lona option. He had a feeling that any attention focused on him instead of on trying to ensure Lona's wellbeing would just upset Elmer more at the moment. "How long would you guess it took from the time Lona was exposed until she ended up like this?" It couldn't have been much more than three hours, four if they wanted to push the time limit a bit.  
  
Chris slowly nodded. If Elmer was just beginning to show minor symptoms then they were definitely slowing the thing down somehow. Or maybe he had some sort of resistance to it? Either way, she felt a tiny surge of hope that maybe they would be able to do something to stop this before.... She bit her lip once more to regain control of her emotions.  
She couldn't lose Hook now, she just couldn't.  
  
"Chris, if Elmer has what Lona has and we can keep the thing from going too far, then maybe we'll be able to get some clues about what this blasted thing is and figure a way to help Lona." Hook spoke quietly, not wanting Elmer to hear him, not wanting to risk giving him any false hope.  
Hook knew that he should be more than a bit concerned for himself since Elmer was starting to show signs of infection. He could definitely become sick soon as well. He firmly pushed any worries along that line away though. With Lona in such poor condition, she needed all of his medical skill if there was any hope that she would pull through. He didn't have time to worry for himself. And as he looked over at Chris, it was pretty obvious that she was doing enough worrying for the both of them.  
He reached out, drawing her into his arms. Okay, they had that protective suit between them but any sort of embrace was better than none.  
"It's going to be okay, Chris." he whispered to her.  
  
"I...." Chris shook her head as she looked over at Elmer, at the frightened look on his face as he held Lona's hand, pressing the cool cloth against her neck and hands. That could be her soon, having to watch as the man that she loved.... She shook her head. Love. She was in love with Hook. Why hadn't she really realized that before now? Why had she wasted so much time and now.... "Hook, you know that I...."  
  
"I know." He said gently. "I know. This is going to be okay,  
Chris. We're going to figure out a way to fix this." He held her to him,  
gently rubbing her back to try to comfort her. "We're going to fix this, I promise."  
  
Chris felt herself gradually calming under his reassuring touch.  
She shook her head sadly at how she was acting, letting herself freak when Hook was staying so calm, focusing on helping the others even when he might be,,,, No! She wasn't even going to let herself thing about that. Hook was right. They were going to fix this! "I'll get a nurse in here to take blood and get it down to the lab." she told him quietly. "I'm going to go and start checking some things too, while I'm waiting for Dr. Mobanga."  
There had to be something, anything, that they could use to fight this blasted thing. The more she thought about it, the more that her determination built. She had just found Hook and there was no way that she was letting some blasted disease take him away from her without a fight.  
  
"That's my girl," Hook said with a smile as he hugged Chris close for a moment more before letting her go. "Might want to see if they could get another bed moved in here too." He looked over at Elmer as he spoke.  
"We might need it soon."  
  
"I will. Just take care of them, okay?" Chris said softly as she hugged Hook once more before heading for the door, determination filling her with each step. She wasn't going to lose him now, she couldn't! 


	15. chapter 15

"I'm not sick." Elmer said quietly as Hook came back over to join his father. Oh, he couldn't believe they were doing this, making such a fuss over a tiny little temperature when her Lona was burning with fever and not getting any better. He gently ran the cool washcloth over her hot fingers once more. He didn't need their attention, Lona did.  
  
"Elmer, we can't take any chances," Louis said gently as he look down at his son, trying to keep the fear from showing in his voice. His son. If anything happened to Elmer.... No, he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it if he had to bury his only remaining child. He looked over at Hook hoping for some sort of reassurance.  
  
"Elmer, if you do have what Lona has, it looks like we might have caught it early anyway." Hook said as he reached out and patted Louis's shoulder to try and get him calmed down. If Louis freaked on them now and from the way that he was looking, Elmer was heading for a major freak-out.... "We're going to get some more blood drawn for testing, okay,  
and see about upping the antibiotics, try to get this thing under control before it gets any worse."  
  
"What about Lona?" Elmer had fear in his eyes as he looked up at them. Why hadn't they said anything about Lona? Were they just going to give up on her, decide that she couldn't be saved and leave her to die while they concentrated on him? He felt tears starting to form in his eyes as he thought of that. No, they couldn't do that! He wouldn't let them!  
  
Before Elmer could say anything, Hook had moved to join him at Lona's side, gently patting his shoulder. "Elmer, it's okay. I swear to you that we're not going to stop trying to get Lona better, alright? We're going to take care of both of you." He shook his head slightly as he looked down at the younger doctor, not sure if Elmer really understood what he was saying or not. "Listen, Elmer. If you have what Lona has, then for some reason, it doesn't seem to be as serious in your case yet. If we can study you and figure out this thing, then it might give us a clue what to do to help Lona. You might be our best shot at saving her, okay?"  
  
"Promise me that you're not going to give up on her?" What Hook was saying made sense but Elmer was still afraid, so afraid. If anything happened to Lona, he didn't know how he would go on, if he would even want to go on without her.  
  
"Elmer, I swear we're not going to give up on either one of you,  
okay?" Hook laughed slightly, hoping that a show of not being too worried would help to calm Elmer down a bit. "Chris is out there now looking for an answer and we're going to keep working on this from in here too. We're going to figure out what this is and fix it, okay?"  
  
Louis didn't speak, didn't really know what he could say as Hook struggled to comfort his son. His first instinct as a father was crying out for him to demand that they do everything they could for his son despite Lona also needing care but at the same time he realized that if anything should happen to Lona, Elmer might recover physically but something inside him would be irreparably broken by the loss. He reached out and laid a hand on his son's other shoulder hoping that touch might help in a way that the words that he didn't have couldn't.  
  
"I...." Louis started to speak but he didn't know what he wanted to say. He knew that as a doctor he should be out there with Chris trying to find a solution for this thing but as a father all he wanted to do was to stay with his son, to try to hold onto him and keep him there with them instead of....  
  
"Dad, please help Chris or try something, anything to figure out what this is." Elmer wasn't very good at reading his father most of the time but right now his dad's face was as clear as a bell. "I'm fine." He insisted. "This isn't anything. It's just the sniffles or something.  
You'll see. And Lona's so sick. If we can't find something that will help her soon...." He couldn't go on speaking, couldn't give voice to the notion that Lona might not survive. A tear ran down his cheek as he thought of that. If Lona didn't live, then he did hope that he had the disease. At least then he would be able to join her.  
  
"Would it help for me to get her medical records?" Louis asked Hook quietly. He didn't want to leave Elmer but on the other hand if he didn't and Lona did die, would his son blame him for staying, for not trying harder to find a treatment for her? He shook his head at the thought. If only Lona would wake up for a moment and see how his boy was looking at her. It was obvious that all of them had vastly underestimated the degree of Elmer's affection for Lona.  
  
Hook nodded. "Pull Lona's medical record and Elmer's too. If this is the same thing, I'll need both of them to look at for comparisons.  
"Alright. Son?" Louis said as he laid a hand on Elmer's shoulder again. "I'm going to go and get some things that Hook needs and see if I can do anything for Chris. I'll be back in just a little while, okay?"  
Elmer nodded, not trusting himself to speak as his dad headed for the door.  
  
Louis paused at the doorway. Every fatherly instinct he had was screaming for him to turn around, to go back to Elmer and to savor every last moment that he had with his son, that these might be their last times together. He closed his eyes, blinking back tears and he ignored those thoughts and stepped through the door. It wouldn't do any good for him to stay right with his son in a panic. The best thing that he could do for Elmer now was to pull himself together and work on doing whatever it took to find a treatment, a way to save both Elmer and Lona. It was obvious to him that if Lona didn't survive, then neither would his son, at least not in the important ways.  
  
"Okay, Elmer, why don't you roll up your sleeve? Nurse will be in in a few minutes to get that blood sample, okay?" Hook said as he patted Elmer's shoulder with a slight grin. "You want me to see if they can find some pajamas for you? They're going to bring in another bed, okay?"  
  
"No. No bed. I'm not going to leave her. I promised that I wouldn't leave her." Hook shook his head as he saw the stubborn look in Elmer's eyes. Oh, great. If Elmer was going to put up this big of a fuss about moving a few feet away from Lona into another bed, the he hated to see what Elmer would find to argue with him about later. 'Chris, find something fast.' he thought to himself. 


	16. chapter 16

Louis hurried down to medical records, his mind not really connected to his body at the moment though but back in that hospital room with his son. If anything happened to Elmer... Louis had thought that losing Edgar would destroy him but he had survived somehow. If he ended up losing Elmer, though, he was sure that he wouldn't survive. He shook his head sadly as he thought of it. Did Elmer have any idea how much he was loved? How had their relationship taken such a wrong turn?  
  
He waved to the woman in charge of medical records as he entered,  
not even able to recall her name at that point. She was normally extremely strict about who she let touch her precious files but when she saw Louis,  
she nodded, a sad expression on her face, as she waved for him to go on in.  
Louis shook his head as he headed into the stacks in search of Lona's file. Did everyone in the hospital know what was going on and did they all have to look at him with these awful pitying looks like he had already lost his remaining child? Elmer wasn't dead yet and he wasn't going to be!  
Louis wasn't going to lose his son no matter what it took to save him!  
Saving Elmer. One essential thing if he wanted to save his son was to save Lona. Okay, he didn't think that Elmer would exactly die if she didn't survive but there would be a part of him that would be irreparably broken. Louis felt tears starting to sting his eyes as he thought of his son going through something like that, something he knew all to well due to first the divorce and then having to see Emma die with nothing that he could do to save her. He firmly forced that memory away the second that it surfaced. Thinking about Emma's death would do no good now, would only make him lose the focus that he needed to help find a solution to this problem. There had to be a way to cure Lona. They just had to find it in time.  
  
With a slight smile, he reached out and extracted Lona's medical record. He knew he should just take it up to Hook. As the doctor in charge, he was in the best position to interpret things as they might connect to Lona's current condition. He couldn't help be look though,  
hoping that he might see something, anything, that would help. Besides Elmer's feelings for her, Lona had been a good friend to him over the years, had been especially comforting after Edgar.... He blinked back tears as he though of those difficult days ad how Lona had tried so hard to help even though she was definitely way out of her depth. There had to be something that he could use to help her now when she needed it.  
  
Everything in the record was basically normal, something that wasn't surprising. He had rarely known Lona to be sick and even when she was she would come in anyway and just isolate herself in the sleep lab.  
Suddenly his eyes fell on one short notation and he almost dropped the record in shock. Living Will. Lona had a....  
  
Louis walked out of medical records in a daze, ducking into the nearest empty room that he could find before starting to look at the record once more. Living will. Now something was starting to come back to him vaguely. It had been after they had lost a patient, a slow, lingering death after a severe head trauma. He wasn't really sure why the entire situation had bothered Lona so much. They had lost other patients from similar injuries before, after all. This one had just gotten to her though and he remembered her saying that she didn't want to be kept alive like that, forced to linger when there was no hope for recovery and a meaningful life. Then the next thing that he had known, she had asked him to witness something for her.  
  
Louis shook his head as he thought of that. He hadn't even read the blasted thing, had been distracted by some sort of mess that Elmer had gotten up to in med school and had just trusted Lona's judgment. How in the world was he going to explain to his son why he had signed a paper that could result in Lona's death? And was this a situation that called for the use of a living will? Louis slumped forward in the chair, burying his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees. He remembered more now, how adamant Lona had been about not wanting life support if she suffered brain damage,  
if she had no chance of recovery. And hadn't Hook said something about some kind of problem that he had seen on the EEG? Had Lona suffered brain damage due to either the illness itself or the cardiac arrest that it had triggered?  
  
"Louis?" He heard a voice call his name and looked up to see Chris standing in the doorway. "What's going on?" she said quietly as she hurried across the room to join him, the expression on his face frightening her. "Did something happen to...." Chris didn't want anything to happen to Elmer or Lona of course. Both of them were her friends. If anything happened to Hook though....  
  
"Take a look." Louis said quietly as he handed the record to her,  
pointing out the notation with a finger. "Look right there."  
  
"A living will?" Lona had a living will? Why in the world would she even think about that at her age? Okay, Lona liked to go on about her age and how she was much too old for Elmer but honestly she wasn't that old. "You knew about this?" Chris asked quietly, suddenly understanding why Louis was looking like he did.  
  
Louis nodded. "I didn't remember it until I saw the note of it in the record. So, want to help me figure out how I can tell my son that we might have to pull the plug on the woman that he loves in just a little while?" 


	17. chapter 17

"We need to find a copy of this first of all," Chris said as she looked at Louis. "You don't have any idea of what it said?" How in the world could he have signed something without reading it? She didn't think that anyone besides Dr. James did that, which explained how Stegman ended up as their co-worker.  
  
"I know, I know I should have read it." Louis shook his head as he thought of it. Of course, even if he had read it, he probably would have thought nothing of it. After all, Lona had done it long before Elmer had developed his almost obsessive crush, no not crush but love, on her. And from a strict medical standpoint, he knew a living will was a good idea.  
  
"Do you remember why Lona might have written something like this?"  
Chris asked. She was eager to get back to the lab, to trying to find out something, anything that might be used to treat this blasted disease but she could see that the notion of the living will had Louis extremely upset.  
No way could she just leave him like that. "Lona isn't really that old despite what she tries to tell Elmer."  
  
Louis thought for a moment before speaking, wanting to make sure that he recalled all of the important details of the case. He closed his eyes as he thought of it and what he had signed. If he brought that living will in he was going to have to explain all of this to his son and.  
Elmer would never understand, he knew that he wouldn't.  
  
"It was a head trauma case. Severe brain injury. Patient ended up in a vegetative state and there was some sort of problem trying to locate the family to get permission to remove the life support. Lona was doing some of her sleep studies and she got permission from Jesse to use this patient in them. She got a pretty good look at what had happened and for some reason, it really disturbed her."  
  
"Did she give you any idea of what she might have put in that living will?" Chris asked softly. She was starting to get a bit of a bad feeling about this.  
  
"She didn't say specifically but I can remember what she talked about in reference to that patient. She said she didn't want to end up like that, on life support if there was no hope of recovery." Chris sighed softly when she heard that. No, that wouldn't apply in this case. There was still hope Lona could get well. If there wasn't, then that would mean there was no hope for Hook or Elmer either and she refused to let herself thing about that. She wasn't going to lose Hook now and as for Elmer,  
losing him would kill Louis so.... No, there definitely had to be hope that they could beat this thing.  
  
"She said something about the brain damage too, how she wouldn't want to be kept alive if there if she ever suffered that, if there was no chance for returning to a meaningful life." Louis shook his head as he thought of that. Why in the world had he ever signed that thing?  
  
"That isn't very specific." Chris said with a shake of her head.  
Okay, she had an idea of what Lona would consider a meaningful life but if it wasn't spelled out, it was open to interpretation.  
  
"You know as well as I do what Lona would consider a meaningful life." Louis said slowly. "If she wasn't able to function as a doctor again, to do her sleep studies...." How was he ever going to explain this to Elmer? And since he witnessed the blasted thing, he was probably going to be forced to testify to what Lona would consider a meaningful life, to what she had been thinking of when she had written that blasted thing if she hadn't been totally explicit in her instructions. He shook his head as he thought of it. Why had he ever read that file? If he hadn't then.  
If Hook had read it though, then Louis knew rationally that it would be his duty as a doctor to tell him all that he knew about it. How could he do something that he knew had such potential to devastate his son, though,  
even if he had to violate every principle that he had held dear? Wasn't Elmer more important than principles?  
  
"Louis?" Chris said quietly as she looked at the older doctor,  
She reached out, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders. She could tell that he was seriously hurting.  
  
Louis shook his head, not able to speak at the moment. Elmer was sick. What if he ended up in the same condition as Lona, what if he.  
He was barely able to hold back tears as he thought of it. He had already lost one son. Please, he couldn't lose Elmer too, he just couldn't!  
  
Then there was Lona. She was his friend and she had trusted him when she had asked him to witness that thing, had trusted him to make sure that her wishes were carried out. How could he violate her trust and ever look himself in the face in the mirror again? But was this really a situation that called for the living will in the first place? He desperately tried to convince himself that he didn't need to say or do anything at this point. Lona had only been sick for a short time, after all, and they were all working on trying to find a treatment. Wasn't it premature to even be thinking about a living will at this point? Shouldn't they just be thinking about getting Lona better?  
  
"Has Mobanga called back yet?" he asked Chris urgently. "Or has the lab found anything yet?" If Chris had some sort of news, maybe it would help him, give him an idea of what he should do.  
  
"Nothing yet." Chris said softly. "They're running tests on Elmer's blood now, hoping to find out something new. The antibiotics seem to be slowing this but they just aren't knocking it out."  
  
Louis nodded slowly. So nothing new, nothing to help him decide what decision to make. What in the world was he going to do now? 


	18. chapter 18

It felt like forever before Louis found himself able to speak once more, his mind frantically running over the situation again and again trying to find some sort of solution, anything that would give him a way out of this mess without hurting his son, possibly destroying their relationship forever. There was nothing, though. Lona had trusted him to honor her wishes and he didn't feel that he could betray her now, not even to save.... He had to struggle to hold back tears as he thought about how Elmer was going to react if Lona died, if they had to take her off of the machines. He knew that he would lose his son forever if that happened.  
How could he risk that and yet at the same time, how could he betray Lona's trust in him and the ethical principals he had held for so long?  
  
"I have to tell Hook." Louis said slowly to Chris. "I have to find a copy of this and let him see it." His heart felt heavier with each word that he spoke, knowing that if he did tell, it was likely going to be the end of any relationship with his son.  
  
"Louis...." Chris just stared at him, not really sure of what to say. Elmer was definitely going to take this badly, that she was sure of and if Louis was the one to bring the living will to Hook's attention.  
Suddenly, she had an idea. "Louis, do you want me to be the one to tell Hook? Maybe if it comes from someone else...." She liked Elmer and would hate to lose him as a friend, of course, but that would be better than Louis losing his son.  
  
Louis closed his eyes for a moment as he pondered Chris's suggestion She had know idea how tempting it was to pass the responsibility on to someone else. Then he could just focus on his son instead of having to deal with what Lona wanted, with making sure that her wishes were respected. With a shake of his head, he realized that he couldn't do it, though, couldn't pawn off what was his responsibility onto Chris just to save his relationship with his son. When he had signed that paper, it had been like a promise to Lona and he wouldn't break that promise.  
  
"No, I signed the papers. It's my responsibility." Louis said slowly as he stood, his mind running over where they could go to find a copy of the living will. Maybe once they saw it, maybe Lona hadn't been as explicit in the written document as she had been when she had been talking to him.  
  
"Would her lawyer have a copy or does she even have one?" Chris asked Louis. She wised he had agreed to let her handle telling Hook. She hated the thought of what would happen if he was the one to tell. Elmer would totally freak.  
  
"I've got his name in my office." Louis shook his head as he thought of that. He had even recommended the lawyer to Lona. Oh, Elmer would probably think that was another sign that his father was plotting against him, that and his signing of the blasted living will. "I'll call him and see if he has it and can fax a copy over."  
  
Chris slowly nodded. "Let me know when you get it, okay? I'll be in the lab seeing if they've come up with anything." Louis shouldn't be alone when he had to show Hook that paper. "And if you change your mind and want me to be the one to tell...."  
  
"It's my responsibility," Louis said once more as he turned and exited the lounge. And if he was the one to tell, maybe he could put a slight spin on things? After all, Lona had been thinking of something like an accident or something involving head trauma when she wrote out the living will, not the current situation. Maybe he could spin things in a way that would make Hook decide the living will didn't apply to the present situation. And maybe by the time he got back from checking with the lawyer and getting the papers faxed over, Chris would have good news and he wouldn't have to tell Hook about it at all. As he headed for his office,  
he started to silently pray for a miracle. 


	19. chapter 19

"Yes, thank you. It's coming through now." Louis told the lawyer as the paper started coming out of the fax machine in his office. He stared at the paper almost as if he was looking at some sort of venomous snake, knowing that this could very well spell the end for Lona and he knew probably for any hopes he had of ever working things out with his son.  
"Yes, I'll call you if I have any further questions."  
  
Louis reached out, picking up the papers carefully with one hand as he hung up the phone. Only two sheets. How could something this important only take up two sheets of paper? He sat down slowly and started to read,  
praying that he would find some sort of loophole in this so he wouldn't have to mention it to Hook at all, at least not for the moment. He knew how Elmer would react once he heard about it. Louis didn't think he could break his promise as a doctor, the promise he made as a friend in signing this for Lona, that he would see her wishes carried out but at the same time, the thought of having to face his son and tell him that he was going to have to let Lona go broke his heart. Elmer was sick. Who knows if it could make him worse, make him give up fighting the disease, if he lost Lona.  
  
The will itself was the standard format, the declaration that Lona was of sound mind when she had it drawn up, basically what everyone listed.  
Louis felt tears starting to form as he read it, though, and he had to struggle to hold them back as he read. He hadn't let himself cry since Edgar died and he wouldn't start again now.

I, Lona Massingale, being of sound mind, make this statement as a directive to be followed if I become unable to participate in decisions regarding my medical care.  
  
I direct that life-sustaining procedures should be withheld or withdrawn if I have an illness, disease or injury or experience extreme mental deterioration, such that there is no reasonable expectation of recovering or regaining a meaningful quality of life. These life-sustaining procedures that may be withheld include, but are not limited to: surgery/antibiotics/cardiac resuscitation/respiratory support/artificially administered feeding and fluids/blood and blood products. I further direct that treatment be limited to measures to keep me comfortable and to relieve pain.  
  
These directions express my legal right to refuse treatment. Therefore I expect my doctors and everyone concerned with my care to regard themselves as legally and morally bound to act in accord with my wishes, and in doing so to be free of any legal liability for having followed my directions.The actual will took only one page, though so what was the second?  
He moved it to the front, his eyes widening slightly in surprise when he saw the scan of a hand written note addressed to him.'Louis, I'm sorry that I didn't get to talk to you about this more but working death into the conversation is a bit hard especially when it's your own death. If you're reading this, it looks like it's time for me to discuss my death with you, though. I want you to know that you're the person at the hospital that I trust the most to carry out my wishes. If I'm ever at the point where I've suffered brain damage with no reasonable chance for recovery and a meaningful life, I'm trusting you to make sure that my wishes are carried out. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a bed dependent on tubes and machines, not able to do the things that I love, not able to function as a doctor and a researcher. I'm sorry if this puts you in a bad position but of all of the doctors here, you're the one that I trust the most to see that my wishes are carried out. And even more than that, you're my friend. I hope that I told you that before whatever happened to me happened. I hope that I told you how much I valued your friendship and how much it meant to me. Thank you for giving me that.  
  
Promise me that you won't mourn or cry for me. I don't want that.  
I trust you to handle the arrangements for the disposal of my body.  
I have no family to speak of so I would like to be cremated. I have no desire for a funeral or flowers, perhaps a simple memorial somewhere if you think that there would be anyone interested in attending, otherwise, I don't want any sort of ceremony. Please dispose of my belongings in the way that seems best to you.  
  
Goodbye, Louis, and I'm sorry if I ever failed you as a friend. If I ever did, please forgive me. Your friendship was very dear to me. LonaHe couldn't help it. As he finished reading the letter, tears started to roll down his cheeks. With Lona putting this degree of trust in him, how could he not do his best to carry out her wishes no matter what the consequences were?  
  
"Lona, I'll do what you want." he whispered softly as she stood.  
"I just hope that my son can forgive me for it." 


	20. chapter 20

Hook looked up as Louis entered, a bit disappointed when he saw that it wasn't Chris but at the same time a bit pleased for Elmer's sake.  
Maybe Louis could do something to comfort his son.  
  
"How is she?" Louis asked quietly as he looked over at Lona.  
Elmer was so engrossed in gently bathing her hands and neck with cool water that he hadn't even noticed his father's entrance. Louis closed his eyes for a moment, not able to take seeing Elmer doing that, knowing that it might all be for nothing once Hook saw the living will. How could he do this to his son?  
  
"No change. I'm still doing the EEG to keep an eye on her with the fever. Nothing seems to be touching that thing." Hook said with a sigh.  
  
"Has the EEG shown anything?" Louis asked. If Hook said the EEG was fine, then wouldn't that mean he would be justified in not telling him about the living will? No need to bring up something that wasn't necessary, after all.  
  
"I can't really tell. If you want to, you can take a look." Hook told him. "Some areas have almost no activity going on and then others,  
it's almost like she's spiking seizures or something now."  
  
"Seizures?"  
  
"She's on something to try to control it if that's the case but the drugs are just slowing the activity down in the other areas, not in the ones we want." Hook shook his head as he looked over at Lona. He didn't want to seem negative, especially after what he had seen happen with Peter Rickman but.... Whatever had saved Peter, it looked like Lona might need a double dose of it if she was going to recover.  
  
Louis was silent for a moment as he looked over at Lona and Elmer.  
How could he do this, knowing it would likely lead to his son's heart being broken and yet at the same time, how could he not honor his friend's last wishes. "There's something that you need to see." Louis said quietly,  
handing Hook the papers before he could change his mind. Then he headed over to join his son at Lona's side.  
  
"Dad?" Elmer looked up at his father with hope sparking in his eyes. "Have you found out anything?"  
  
"Not yet." Louis couldn't bring himself to tell Elmer about the living will, that these might be his last hours with Lona. Better if it was to let Elmer spend them peacefully, not panicking at the thought he was losing her. "How are you holding up?"  
  
"I'm scared." Elmer hated to admit it, sure that his father would see it as a sign of total weakness but.... "If she would just open her eyes or something. You don't think she's in pain or anything, do you?"  
The notion that Lona might be hurting was really concerning for him. He couldn't stand that thought.  
  
"I'm sure Hook's given her something." Louis said quietly as he reached out and felt his son's forehead. Even through the protective suit he could feel that the fever was the same. It hadn't increased, though.  
Was that a good sign, possibly?  
  
Elmer nodded. He wished his dad would stop looking so concerned for him. Lona was the one who needed all of their attention, after all.  
He was sure that all he had was the sniffles. After all, he didn't feel sick. The fever had to be from the sniffles.  
  
Louis was barely able to hold it together as he looked at his son.  
Did Lona know how much that boy actually loved her? Would it have made a difference if she had known? He liked to think it might have. Louis reached out, snagging a chair and pulling it over next to Elmer. He knew he needed to be out there helping to try to find a treatment for this thing but at the same time, he desperately wanted this time with his son.  
"Elmer?"  
  
"You ought to talk to Sonny, see if he can run a hookup from the lab to Lona's laptop when she's feeling better." Elmer looked over at his father for a moment before focusing on Lona again. He wasn't going to let himself think about anything besides Lona's recovery. "You know we're never going to be able to keep her in bed unless she has her research to study."  
  
"We'll worry about that later." Louis said, barely able to hold tears back at his son's words. How was he going to break this to Elmer?  
"Listen, why don't you try talking to Lona for a little while? Let her know how much you love her." Would that comfort Elmer somehow, to know that he had at least been able to tell Lona how he felt before she died?  
  
Louis stood, not able to stand it anymore, sitting there listening to Elmer talk about Lona recovering when he knew.... "I'm going to go and see if Chris needs any help, okay? I'll be back later."  
  
"Louis?" Hook approached the older doctor as he headed for the door.  
  
"Not now, Hook." Louis said quietly. "I know I need to talk to you about that but just not now." He shook his head as he moved past Hook and out of the room, tears starting to flow as soon as he exited. What had he done? 


	21. chapter 21

Louis headed back to his office, not able to stand being so close to his son at the moment, not knowing the pain that Elmer would be in soon once he found out what his father had just done. Louis was able to hold things together long enough to get to his office but once he was in the privacy of the room, he collapsed into his desk chair, grief for both Lona and Elmer overwhelming him. The thought of Lona's death, that he was going to lose his friend, broke his heart. There had been so much loss lately,  
way too much from his way of thinking.  
  
Then there was how the situation would effect Elmer. It seemed like his relationship with his son had never been as strong as Louis would have liked for it to have been. He supposed their problem had started at first simply due to the fact that Elmer shouldn't have been there at all.  
Now, though, he didn't really understand why they still had the problems that they did. He had to have failed in some way. Maybe he hadn't tried hard enough to get through to his son, to show Elmer how much he loved him and now.... He had some vague hope that Elmer might understand. After all, Lona had clearly stated her wishes should she ever suffer an irrecoverable injury or illness. Surely if Elmer loved Lona as much as Louis felt that his son did, he would want to honor her last requests.  
Louis knew that things weren't that clear cut though, especially with all of the unknowns surrounding Lona's condition. How could they honestly say that there was no hope for Lona to recover and yet at the same time with what Hook had seen on the EEG....  
  
"Louis?" Chris called his name softly as she entered the office.  
Sympathy washed over her at the sight of the expression on the older doctor's face. Hook had told her about what had happened in the ER recently, about how Louis had lost his ex-wife, so she couldn't imagine how hard this had to be for him, to be facing losing a friend like this and then maybe.... No, she wouldn't even let herself think about that, forced that thought firmly away. Elmer was sick, true, but not seriously ill and Hook seemed totally fine. She just wished that she could say the same for Lona.  
  
"I gave it to Hook." Louis said as he looked up at Chris with despair in his eyes. Although he knew that it was what he had to do, that he had to do his best to carry out Lona's last wishes, the entire thing felt so, so wrong. "I didn't tell Elmer. I couldn't stand to." Maybe that had been a cowardly decision, to not be the one to break the bad news.  
It had certainly felt like one to him but try as he might he just couldn't bring himself to watch his son's heart be broken when he found out that Lona was going to die. Elmer had been through so much. How much more could that poor boy take? Would it help him that there would be no funeral, none of the public morning to go through? Louis wanted to believe that it might but deep down he felt that the lack of a proper way to say goodbye would probably make Elmer even worse.  
  
"How is Lona?" Chris asked gently as she walked around the desk to lay a comforting hand on Louis's shoulder. She wanted to say something,  
anything, that would make this better and yet there was nothing that she could do.  
  
"Dying." Louis almost shook as he said that, admitting out loud what he had felt in his heart since the first time that he saw Lona after the cardiac arrest. "She's dying. Hook thinks that she's having seizures now and the medications aren't controlling them."  
  
Chris winced slightly at this latest bit of news. She knew all too well the damage that uncontrolled seizures could do to the brain,  
especially if they went on for an extended period.  
  
"She even left instructions for what she wanted done." Louis shook his head as he thought of Lona's instructions. "Cremation, no funeral, no flowers." Okay, he knew for experience how hard funerals were but there was also something, a bit of comfort, to them too, to being able to do one last thing for someone that you loved. Could they still do that even though Lona hadn't wanted a funeral? Maybe some sort of service before the actual cremation? He was sure doing something would be important for Elmer, something to let him say goodbye.  
  
"Did Hook say what he thought about taking her off of the machines?" Chris asked gently. Okay, especially with seizures going on,  
things didn't sound good but still it had only been a few hours since Lona got sick. How could they give up so quickly on her? Didn't Lona deserve a little more time?  
  
"He didn't say or if he did, I didn't feel like staying to listen."  
Louis said with a shake of his head. Even as he spoke, his mind was running over what he would need to do to handle things after Lona... Even without a funeral or a burial, there would be so many things that would be necessary for him to do. The obituary... He shook his head once more as he thought of it. It just seemed so wrong to be planning things, to be thinking of how to handle Lona's death, when she was still technically clinging to life.  
  
Chris looked at Louis helplessly, not sure of what to say. Talking about Lona dying was tremendously upsetting, not only because talking about it meant facing the fact that they were about to lose a friend but because of the fear that it stirred in her mind that Hook could be next. She looked around the room, looking for a distraction from her fear-riddled thoughts. "Hey, looks like something came through the fax for you."  
Louis took the paper Chris held out for him, silently reading for a moment before shaking his head slowly. "She even wrote out her own obituary. The lawyer must have found it after we talked."  
"What?" Chris reached out, taking the paper from Louis and starting to silently read it.  
  
'Massingale, Dr. Lona born 1959 graduated from Beumont University MD and Ph.D. Neurologist on staff at Kingdom Hospital. No funeral or flowers at the request of the deceased. Cremation to be handled by Dostie Funeral Home.'  
  
"She even went ahead and made arrangements with the mortuary."  
Louis could barely keep from breaking down completely now. Everything was starting to seem so real. "All I have to do once Hook takes her off the machines is to call them and have them come to pick her up." 


	22. chapter 22

"So, what did my dad bring you?" Elmer asked suddenly, causing Hook to look at the younger doctor in surprise. "I'm not dumb, you know."  
Elmer said when he noticed how Hook was looking at him. Why did people keep assuming he was a total idiot? He had seen his dad handing Hook several papers out of the corner of his eye and since they hadn't said anything about the papers' contents to him, he was getting more than a bit concerned. Was Lona getting worse or something? He didn't see how that could be possible but.... "Is she worse?" Elmer clung tightly to Lona's hand as he spoke, as if he could somehow keep the life in her body by force of will alone.  
  
"Elmer...." Hook didn't want to be the one to do this, didn't want to be the one to have to tell Elmer and break his heart but at the same time he knew that Elmer deserved honesty about the situation. Elmer could act like a child, true, but he didn't deserve to be treated like one and have things hidden from him. Hook knew that the young man's feelings for Lona were much more serious than most people thought. He grinned slightly as he recalled the dinner that Elmer had asked him to arrange for Lona a few weeks before. Had Lona ever realized exactly how much Elmer loved her?  
Hook certainly hoped that she had for both of their sakes.  
  
"Hook, how bad is it?" Elmer demanded. Why did people always do this with him, treating him like he was a child that couldn't handle anything? "Hook?" He didn't care how bad the news was. Lona was going to get better! He would do whatever it took to make sure of that. He knew that Lona had never returned his feelings, maybe never could, but even if she couldn't, it didn't change the way he felt. He loved her and he was going to be there to help her and take care of her no matter what.  
  
"Elmer.... You need to prepare yourself, okay?" Hook told the younger man gently. It never got any easier doing this no matter how long he had done it. He didn't even want to imagine how he would feel if he was in Elmer's position, if it was Chris there in that bed slipping slowly away. "Lona's very sick and at this point it just isn't looking very good.  
I'm really sorry." He was sorry. That phrase has sounded totally inadequate when he used it with Natalie Rickman and it definitely sounded inadequate now. What else was there that he could say, though?  
  
"How bad is she?" Elmer said softly. He gently raised Lona's hand a bit, kissing her fingers as he spoke. Could she feel how much he loved her? Surely if she could, it would make some sort of difference, would help her to fight to get better.  
  
"There are some abnormalities on the EEG." Hook decided it was best to let Elmer know everything they were dealing with. Maybe that would make it easier for him if it turned out that Lona would have to be taken off of the machines. "Some areas are showing almost no brain activity while it looks like she's suffering from seizures in other areas. Lona's fever is still at 103 and nothing we're doing is bringing it down. She isn't reacting to any of the medications we've tried so far. What's especially worrisome is that she hasn't shown any sort of response since we brought her back from the cardiac arrest." Hook watched Elmer closely as he spoke, trying to see if the younger doctor was actually understanding what they were dealing with.  
  
"I should have found her faster." Elmer whispered as he kissed Lona's fingers once more. He should have found her faster, done something better. If he had, then this wouldn't have happened.  
  
"Elmer, it wasn't your fault. You did everything that you could for Lona." Hook walked over, putting the papers down on the bed as he laid a reassuring hand on Elmer's shoulder. "It's just whatever is making her sick hit her too fast and too hard. There wasn't anything that you could have done."  
  
Elmer was hearing what Hook was saying but he wasn't really letting it sink in. Hook could say that things weren't his fault all he liked but it surely didn't feel that way. He should have taken care of Lona and he knew it. He shook his head firmly, trying to force the guilt away. He knew that he didn't have time to let it overwhelm him, now, though. What he needed to be doing was focusing on helping Lona to get well. Okay, Hook was saying things looked bad but Lona was a fighter. She wasn't going to slip away from this easily. They just had to find a way to help her.  
  
As he tried to focus on what he could do to help with that, he idly reached out and picked up the papers that Hook had laid down, letting his eyes run over them, thinking they were test results. Suddenly he stopped,  
eyes widening as he realized exactly what he was looking at. "Living will?" he whispered as he read in shock for a moment before looking up at Hook. "You're going to...."  
  
"Elmer...." Hook didn't know how to explain this to him. Louis needed to be the one to handle this.  
  
"You're going to pull the plug on her? How could you?" Anger was rapidly becoming the dominant emotion that Elmer was feeling as he glared at Hook. "NO!! I won't let you!" 


	23. chapter 23

"Elmer...." Hook shook his head as he watched the younger man.  
The expression on Elmer's face was one of fury as he moved so that he was standing in front of Lona, keeping Hook from even approaching her without having to push past him. Hook had had a bad feeling that Elmer would have reacted like this when he got the news about the living will and Lona's condition but he had been definitely hoping for some sort of better response.

"I'm not going to let you do it! You're not hurting her!" Elmer said, wanting to shout at Hook to get away but knowing that raising his voice might disturb Lona. He wouldn't risk anything that could hurt her,  
not like some people that he could think of. "How could you even think of doing that to her? I thought that she was your friend. I thought that my father...." Elmer shook his head as he thought about it. His father had been really acting like he cared about him, had almost managed to fool him completely. He should have known better than to let himself start to believe it. His dad had never loved him before, after all. He just wished it wouldn't hurt so much.

"Elmer, please." Hook's heart was definitely going out to the younger doctor, outweighing his annoyance with him. He didn't even want to think about how badly he was hurting right now. "Listen, you need to sit down and read what Lona wrote out, okay? I don't want to do anything. I swear to you I don't want to have to take her off of those machines. We have to look at what Lona wanted, though, and she didn't want to have to live like this if there wasn't a chance for her to get better, if she had brain damage." Hook was glad that Louis wasn't in here now, actually. He didn't need to deal with Elmer's anger over the situation, not now, not when Elmer's own life was in danger. Hook could take the anger way better than he knew Louis could.

"She didn't want to die!" Elmer picked up the papers and threw them at Hook. Hook had assumed that he hadn't read, hadn't paid attention to what Lona was saying but hadn't any of them read between the lines and got what Lona really meant? Honestly, everyone always thought that he was a total idiot and didn't know anything but he was getting the feeling that they were definitely the stupid ones now.

"Elmer, did you even look at what she wrote?" Hook asked him gently. "You know what Lona's like and how focused she is on her research.  
Do you really think that she would want to live a life where she wasn't able to do the things she loved? I swear to you, I don't want to lose Lona either and right now I'm just hoping that Chris is going to figure out something that will fix this but we need to think about what will happen if there just isn't anything else that we can do, especially with Lona having what she wanted written out. Elmer, I'm legally obligated to follow her wishes. You ought to know that." Had the young doctor somehow skipped those parts of his medical training?

"You're wrong about what she wanted." Elmer muttered. Why didn't Hook get it? "And she's only been sick a few hours! How can you even think of bringing the stupid living will in now? Doesn't she deserve some time?" Lona could get better, he knew she could if they would just give her the time that she needed to recover. Why were they just rushing to give up on her like this?

"We're not looking at doing anything right now, okay, Elmer?" Hook told him, wishing he could think of what to say to get through to Elmer.  
Natalie Rickman had grasped how seriously injured her husband had been and she wasn't a doctor. Why wasn't Elmer seeming to understand this? "We just have to think about things and to think about what Lona would want.  
Do you really think that she would want to live without being able to do her research again?"

"She wouldn't have to. I could help her." Elmer said as he glared at Hook once more. Did they think he would just abandon Lona if she did have brain damage, not that he believed that she did. They just hadn't figured out the right thing to try with her yet, was all. Why were they all just giving up on her like this? And his father.... Elmer frowned as he looked at the papers, recalling the note that Lona had written to his father. A bit of fear started to rush over him as he thought of that, of all of the nice things that Lona had said about his dad. He didn't want to even imagine it, but had Lona maybe been in love with him? He shook his head fiercely, trying to force that notion away. She couldn't have been and even if she was, his dad obviously didn't feel the same way, didn't love Lona nearly as much as he did. He wouldn't be trying to get Hook to take her off of the machines if he really loved her. He would be fighting to save her life.

"Elmer...." Hook tried to reach out, to gently touch Elmer's shoulder but the younger man pushed his hand away. "Listen, do you want me to see about getting your dad down here to talk to you about this, to let you know what Lona was thinking? Would that help?" Hook hated to bring Louis in when Elmer was so angry and upset but maybe his father could do something to get through to Elmer what Lona's wishes had been.

"No, because my father obviously had no clue what Lona really wanted or he wouldn't have signed this blasted thing! He can just stay away from me and from her!" Elmer said as he shot an angry look at Hook.  
Obviously he was convinced that Elmer was just some sort of stupid child who couldn't possibly understand things. Why didn't they see? "I'm not letting you do it. I'm not letting you take her off of those machines.  
That isn't what Lona wanted."

"Elmer, you saw what she wrote as well as I did." If Elmer wanted to stay in denial as to Lona's wishes, Hook couldn't force him to face reality, but he knew his legal obligations. "I'm not going to do anything right now and we're not giving up on Lona. We're going to do everything that we can to help her. At some point if we can't find something that will help her, though, we're going to have to take into account what Lona said she wanted in a case like this. You just need to let yourself prepare for it, okay? I don't want to think about losing her either but we have to with how sick she is and the fact that she isn't responding. I'm so sorry,  
Elmer. I really am."

Elmer didn't say anything but just shot another angry look at Hook before sitting down once more, moving his chair so that he was blocking Hook from coming near Lona. He wasn't going to let them hurt her. They would have to hurt him first before he would let any harm come to Lona.  
"It's okay." He whispered as he leaned down, speaking softly into Lona's ear so that Hook couldn't hear what he was said. "I promise that you're going to be okay. I'm not going to let them do anything to hurt you. I love you. You're not going to end up alone and abandoned, I promise. I'm going to stay right here and take care of you. I love you"  
He reached out, gently stroking her hair as he spoke to her. No, there was no way that Hook and his dad were going to do anything that would harm Lona. He wouldn't let them. 


End file.
